The Other Side
by kitty27
Summary: What if Hordak would have kidnapped Adam instead of Adora? CHAPTERS 27 & 28 NOW UP.
1. CHAPTER 1

*****DISCLAIMER: I don't claim any rights to the MOTU or POP names, characters, or etc. This is merely for fun.  
  
*****This is my idea for the "What would have happened if Adam would have been kidnapped instead of Adora?" scenario so some things may be different from what others may have considered. Any feedback is greatly welcomed and appreciated.  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
Etheria: A week after the fall of the Great Rebellion.  
  
Plumes of dark smoke still billowed from the charred remains of the once lush and peaceful Whispering Woods. The scent of burning timber still filled the air for miles. The sound of dead trees collapsing and crashing onto the forest floor rang out like a constant song of sorrow. Where beauty once stood for centuries, now there was only death and decay.  
  
Within the halls of the Fright Zone, members of the Horde had been celebrating the defeat of the Great Rebellion. All of the rebel leaders had been captured and imprisoned deep within the murky dungeons of the Zone: the rebel Bow, the Princess Glimmer, the witch Razz and her stupid broom and many others now awaited execution. With the Rebellion gone, the people of Etheria had no choice but to bow down to the Horde. The great-war was finally over and the Horde had been victorious.  
  
And it was all due to the work of one man.  
  
The Evil Lord Hordak sat pensively on his throne and watched over the crowd of troopers celebrating their victory in the throne room below. His red eyes narrowed and his square jaw set, he almost looked angry, but rather, he was concentrating on something of which his troopers were unaware.  
  
Next to him, the witch Shadow Weaver hovered above the ground with her arms crossed. No one in the entire planet had ever dared cross her magic and lived to tell about it. Like Hordak, she too seemed to be deep in thought, considering the latest task that had been handed to her.  
  
Suddenly the room fell quiet as the great doors to the throne room opened. The crowd of troopers parted and dropped to their knees as the menacing figure marched into the room. He had led the Horde Army in a constant, unrelenting push into the woods a week earlier, causing the fall of the Rebellion and personally capturing it's leader, the Princess Glimmer.  
  
Once a Force Captain, he had aptly been promoted to the rank of General for his victorious efforts. The gold bars on the collar of his dark blue uniform confirmed his new position and no one dared question it.  
  
None of the troopers he passed as he marched toward the throne dared look him in eye, which was next to impossible considering the large steal helmet he was wearing. They knew crossing General Damas, as he was so named, meant certain death under the charge of treason, not just because of his rank but because he was also Hordak's only son.  
  
But it was not his lineage that garnered fear and respect of him; it was his cold, calculating viciousness. He would order the deaths of hundreds without giving it a second thought, only to stop at the last second and choose to torture his victims to the point they begged for death. Then, maybe, he would grant their wishes.  
  
Besides that, he had a sharp, military-oriented mind. He could plan and execute perfect attacks with such precision that his targets never knew what hit them until it was too late. Such was the case with the Great, now fallen, Rebellion. What would've taken Hordak years to do, only took him a matter of hours.  
  
Hordak looked at the General as he approached the base of the throne, and knelt down on one knee, bowing his head out of respect for his sire and father. Hordak stood and walked down the long stairway to where the young man knelt.  
  
"Clear the room!" Hordak commanded his troopers. "The General and I have business to discuss! Private business!"  
  
Grumbling came from the crowd and the troopers stood and filed out of the large room. Hordak approached the General, who stood and removed his helmet, shaking out a thick shock of blonde hair. His face was handsome but stern, his blue eyes piercing, his square jaw set as if the concept of a smile was completely foreign to him.  
  
"You sent for me, sire?" Damas growled in a deep, rhythmic, military style manner.  
  
Hordak waved his hand and walked to his son's side. By this time, Shadow Weaver had teleported herself down to the floor and was standing behind the General. Despite the movement around him, Damas kept at full attention.  
  
"At ease, at ease," Hordak chided as he circled. "You don't always have to be so serious my son."  
  
Damas relaxed a little, pushing his black cape black cape behind him and straightening his jacket, bearing the red horde symbol on the left breast.  
  
"Sorry father," he said slowly. "But I must set a good example in front of the men. It keeps them.. respectful, if not at least fearful."  
  
Hordak chuckled a little at his son's unrelenting self-control. That alone was amazing about him. But important business needed to be discussed and there was no time to waste analyzing his son's behavior. Hordak stood in front of him and placed his hands behind his back.  
  
"Son, you know how very proud I am of you," he started. "The way you defeated those cursed rebels and conquered the woods, well, it was remarkable. I couldn't have done it any better myself."  
  
Damas nodded but didn't smile at the praise.  
  
"I was just doing my duty," he responded coldly. "The rebels were a thorn in the Horde's side for too long. Now that they are eliminated, Etheria belongs to the Horde, as it should have always been."  
  
Hordak placed a scaly hand on his son's shoulder and smiled through his black lips.  
  
"You didn't let me finish boy," he laughed. "I'm not the only one who is appreciative of your work."  
  
Damas cocked an eyebrow and looked at Shadow Weaver, half expecting a comment from her. Instead, he saw only her flickering green eyes that haunted many, but merely annoyed him. He turned back to Hordak.  
  
"Oh?" Damas questioned his eyes narrowing.  
  
Hordak removed his hand and started pacing about the room. He had given the situation much thought, and he felt that the plan could be executed well, if things went accordingly.  
  
"Yes, son." He said. "It seems that Horde Prime is very pleased with your work. And he has asked me to send you, along with a contingent of agents, on another mission of the utmost importance."  
  
Damas raised his eyebrows at the mention of Horde Prime's name. He had a great respect for the unseen leader and always had the ambition of working for him directly.  
  
"For Horde Prime, sir?" he asked, containing the excitement within him perfectly. "Of course I will take the mission. I am, as always, Lord Prime's humble servant. What he commands, I will obey. What is this mission I am to undertake?"  
  
Hordak sighed and stopped pacing. Damas walked over to him and looked at him inquisitively. Hordak knew this plan could easily go the wrong way, but he trusted his son to do what he did best. Furthermore, he trusted Weaver to keep his son in line should something unexpected occur.  
  
"There is a small planet, in a different galaxy, that Horde Prime has tried to take over for years," Hordak explained slowly. "There is an off-shoot of the Horde stationed there but their efforts have been unsuccessful for years. And Horde Prime is tired of waiting for results."  
  
Damas put his hand on his chin and leaned against the wall as he considered what he was being told. Hordak waved his hand and a globe of the planet appeared in the air.  
  
"This," he pointed to the globe. "Is the planet Eternia, a small, insignificant planet in the vast scheme of things, but home to an immense power that Horde Prime wishes to control."  
  
He globe spun and finally stopped. A red light showed a destination that Hordak now pointed to and Damas leaned in closer to get a better look. He took in the information and studied the map, memorizing every detail.  
  
"This," Hordak continued. "Is the Castle Grayskull. Within its walls lays a source of magic, more powerful than any other in the universe. For years, our agents have tried to obtain that power, but were unsuccessful. If the Horde were to gain that power, nothing, absolutely nothing could ever defeat us. Given your recent victory here, Horde Prime would like to see you take a crack at Castle Grayskull."  
  
Damas straightened up and nodded. He looked at Shadow Weaver who stood a few feet away with her arms crossed.  
  
"Yes sir," Damas said. "I will assemble a field group of agents immediately and begin planning the attack. I will also arrange a meeting with the Horde agents already on the planet so as to gain what intelligence they already have. I will leave for this Eternia within a few days.  
  
Damas pulled his cape in front of him and bowed in front of Hordak.  
  
"I will take this castle sir," he said confidently. "And I will do so in your name. I won't let you down."  
  
Hordak sighed again and motioned for his son to stand up. Damas did so, but was already beginning planning out his mission in his head. Hordak knew his son would be doing so and tried to keep his attention a little longer.  
  
"It's not going to be that easy, Adam," Hordak said, calling his son by his real name. "There a few other details about Eternia that I have to fill you in on first." 


	2. CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2  
  
***Disclaimer in one.  
  
CHAPTER 2  
  
Adam sat in his room studying the maps of Eternia that Hordak's scout troops had designed. He tried to memorize each line and detail, but his mind wandered. He couldn't help but remember the conversation he and his father had had just hours earlier.  
  
"You see Adam," Hordak had said as he gazed out a window in the throne room. "Eternia is not unfamiliar to me. I was once stationed there and led many battles there myself."  
  
Adam listened intently, despite his surprise to his father's confession, and said nothing as Hordak continued.  
  
"Many years ago...about 22 I would say, I led the Horde on an assault against the Royal Palace of Eternia and it's puerile king, Randor," he explained hesitantly, grimacing as he said the king's name. "I won't bore you with unseemly details, but suffice it to say, the attack did not go as planned and we were forced to retreat."  
  
Adam scowled at the thought of his father, whom he considered to be the greatest military genius of his time, running from battle. His father had always taught him to stay the course and fight until he was victorious, or until he fell in the battle himself. "Only cowards run from the fight" is what he had said on many occasions, too numerous to count.  
  
His father had taught him everything he knew: how to fight, how to shield his mind from magic, how to see his enemy as nothing more than barrier standing between him and victory and most importantly of all, how to use another's fear and insecurities to his advantage.  
  
Having been taught all this and having used this knowledge for the good of the Horde, he could not believe his father had ever retreated from a battle. The thought made him very angry but he respected his father too much to show it.  
  
"Retreat?" he asked sourly, trying not to let the disdain in his mind fill his voice. "I don't understand sir. You have always told me to never retreat, never run in the face of the enemy."  
  
Hordak looked at the floor while black storm clouds formed in the sky outside. He knew he had to explain this just the right way, he could tell his son was angry with him, despite his attempts to conceal it. Once Adam understood, they could focus on the assigned task at hand.  
  
"The situation was different then Adam," he said slowly. "Plans went astray, the timing was not as it should have been, and I had men of much lower caliber working under me. What should have been an easy mission turned into disaster quickly. But there was another factor that left me no choice but to issue the retreat."  
  
Adam looked at his father sternly. He wanted an explanation so as to dispel the demons in his head that were telling him his father, his icon, was a coward.  
  
"You see Adam, while I was attacking the palace, the king, Randor, decided to launch a secret attack of his own," Hordak continued. "On me."  
  
Adam's eyes narrowed but he said nothing. Hordak went on.  
  
"In the midst of battle, one of my informants learned that Randor had dispatched his Man-At-Arms, a skilled and powerful killer, to my headquarters to destroy something that he knew would destroy me," he said. "In order to protect that, I fled, hoping that I would beat the assassin to it."  
  
Adam folded his arms and leaned back. He was curious to learn what was so important that would cause his father to leave a battle against his convictions.  
  
"So what was it that was so important that you risked losing the respect of your men and winning an important battle to save?" he questioned, trying not to sound indignant.  
  
Hordak looked at him with fierce intensity, a mixture of fatherly guidance and stern, tutorial discipline.  
  
"More than 'it,' my son," he said firmly. "But rather, 'who.' Randor had sent an assassin to kill my infant son, and I couldn't allow that to happen. I left the battle to save YOU from certain death. In order to do that, we had to flee from Eternia."  
  
Now as Adam sat studying the plans and going over intelligence reports, his father's words rang out in his head over and over again.  
  
He leaned back and rubbed his eyes as lightning flashed outside, the white light briefly highlighted Adam's rugged features. He contemplated what the story meant. Hordak had risked victory and respect to save him. By doing that, he was allowed to grow up and become the man his father hoped he would be. But to Adam, a victory over Etheria wasn't enough to repay him. He had to do more, something to amend his father's disgrace on Eternia. The thought of that alone made him ravenous.  
  
The pen Adam held in his right hand snapped as he squeezed it with furious intensity. He didn't even notice the blood trickling between his fingers due to the cut he sustained from the pen's broken jagged edges.  
  
Suddenly, he devised a new plan. One based on revenge and vile ambition. Details such as times, weapons, stations and strategies were quickly calculated and filed in his brilliant yet devious mind.  
  
He grinned sadistically to himself. He was planning more than a mere assault on the castle known as Grayskull. He decided while he was on Eternia, he would pay a visit to the coward King Randor, who sent his underlings to do his dirty work and chose to kill the children of his enemies. He would make Randor and his whole family pay for his past mistake of ever daring to cross the Horde.  
  
*******  
  
"General Damas?" Evil-Lyn asked Skeletor dumbfoundedly. "As in the vicious, most evil, ruthless killer General Damas?"  
  
The witch had to sit down as her master told her of the latest news from Horde Prime. Her heart beat faster and her cheeks burned red at the thought of such a powerful man coming to Eternia. Her purple eyes glistened with girlish joy as she smiled broadly at the idea.  
  
Skeletor, however, was less than amused. The blue, skull faced monster crosses his arms and leaned back on his throne. His giant tiger, Panthor, lay lightly snoring next to him.  
  
Skeletor knew Prime was becoming increasingly frustrated with him, but he hated, no DESPISED, the idea of one of Hordak's cronies coming in and taking over, even if it was only temporarily.  
  
"Yes, well, don't get your hopes up too high Evil-Lyn," Skeletor grunted. "Damas is powerful but he has yet to take on the powers of Grayskull. I'm sure it will be an interesting lesson for him, then we shall see how high Prime regards him."  
  
Evil-Lyn just smiled more. She looked at her nails and made a mental note to coat them with tova berries before Damas arrived.  
  
"When is the General expected here?" she asked doefully, trying unsuccessfully not to seem too eager. "I'm sure he'll require much time to plan such an important mission."  
  
Skeletor thought he was going to be nauseous over Evil-Lyn's giddiness. He sighed and stroked Panthor's back.  
  
"You'd think that wouldn't you?" he said flatly. "But according to the latest communication I received, Damas should be here tomorrow night, if not the next day. His troops will arrive a few days later."  
  
"A few days later?" Evil-Lyn questioned. She leaned back in her council seat and frowned. "His troops will not be arriving with him? That's quite odd, wouldn't you say?"  
  
Skeletor was getting tired of answering questions about the matter and he gritted his exposed teeth.  
  
"I have heard that he wishes to scout out the land himself before leading the attack," he growled. "If he doesn't trust the intelligence information I sent him, that's his problem. Let him roam the whole damn planet for all I care."  
  
Evil-Lyn knew she was getting on her master's nerves and was enjoying every second of it. She wondered how far she could push it before Skeletor really got angry.  
  
"Well, if I were in your shoes, which of course I could never be, I would be worried that Prime had such little confidence in me that he had to send someone ELSE to take care of business," she prodded. "Aren't you afraid Damas, the great and powerful General of Hordak's Army, will make you look like a fool?"  
  
Red lights formed in Skeletor's empty eyesockets and he gripped the armrests of his throne.  
  
"What do you mean by that, witch?" He seethed.  
  
Evil-Lyn tried to repress her laughter and looked innocently at her master.  
  
"Well, if Damas manages to succeed in one try where you, I mean we, have failed so many times, don't you think Prime would notice that?" she pressed. "What would happen if Damas took the power of Grayskull for himself? He would be more powerful than Prime...he would certainly be WAY more powerful than you. He could rule the universe."  
  
Evil-Lyn dodged the laser blast from Skeletor's havoc staff and confidently smiled at her now very, very angry master.  
  
Skeletor wasn't about to be upstaged or over-powered by anybody, especially not some young twerp who happened to get lucky a few times of Etheria. He certainly wasn't going to stand idly by and let this General march into Grayskull and take the power that he had coveted for so long.  
  
"Even if he makes it around her," he responded. "I'll be there to make sure that I'm the only one who gets into Grayskull and gets the power of the elders."  
  
Evil-Lyn tilted her head.  
  
"Her?" she asked. "You mean the Sorceress?"  
  
Skeletor chuckled a little at Evil-Lyn's naivety.  
  
"No, foolish woman," he laughed. "I can handle the Sorceress. I mean that blasted warrior woman She-Ra." 


	3. CHAPTER 3

***** Don't sue: Disclaimer is in Chapter 1  
  
****Thanks to everyone for the feedback so far...LadyNiko I'm glad to see you're around to keep me in check! ( Anyways, reviews are always appreciated!  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 3  
  
Within the walls of the city of Eternos:  
  
Man-At-Arms put his hands on his hips and sighed as he watched the Talon Fighter turn over in the air, punch down to the deck, and then shoot back up right above him. The windblast almost knocked his helmet off. He sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Show-off," he mumbled, frowning.  
  
He had just finished making the repairs on the machine from the last time it had been taken of a joy ride. He wasn't looking forward to having to do it again.  
  
Man-At-Arms walked over one of the huge, blinking control panels near the aircraft hanger and reached for the radio. He flipped a few switches and held the receiver up to his mouth, his brown eyes still watching the fighter bob up and down in the air, clipping treetops and scaring the hells out of birds and bystanders on the ground below. He rolled his eyes and pushed the 'Talk' button on the receiver.  
  
"You cut that one a little close, don't you think?" he asked into it.  
  
The fighter flipped in the air and then punched the deck again. Man-At-Arms sighed and pushed the button again.  
  
"You do realize you're aging me a little more every time you pull that stunt don't you?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
A high-pitched, feminine giggle came over the radio. Man-At-Arms turned up the volume a touch.  
  
"Duncan, you worry too much," the voice laughed. "I was just making sure your helmet wasn't on too tight."  
  
Man-At-Arms looked at the young guard stationed at the nearby radar. The lad was stifling a smile and blushing. Man-At-Arms smirked and put the receiver down. The Talon Fighter landed just as he walked out onto the landing pad. He strolled up to the aircraft and watched as it's pilot opened the cockpit door and jumped out.  
  
"I'm glad to see you're in one-piece," he said flatly.  
  
The pilot laughed and removed her helmet, shaking her long, blonde hair out. Her blue eyes sparkled as a smile spread across her lovely face.  
  
"I told you not to worry about me, Duncan," she laughed. "I HAVE flown this thing before."  
  
Man-At-Arms crossed his arms and looked at her sternly.  
  
"I was talking TO the Talon Fighter," he said in that 'I mean business' tone.  
  
The pilot just smiled brighter and slugged him lightly on the shoulder.  
  
"You know, I don't think I'm aging you," she teased. "You're already turning into a grumpy, old man."  
  
Man-At-Arms narrowed his eyes, then eased up and chuckled. He sometimes forgot that his young protégé was quite capable of taking care of herself...most of the time. He put his hands behind his back and started walking back to the palace. The pilot walked next to him, chattering on about the drag the fighter was experiencing on lift-offs.  
  
Duncan half-listened to her before he started staring at something in the distance that caught his attention. After a few minutes, the pilot looked at her teacher and stopped talking, slightly annoyed that she was being ignored.  
  
"Duncan, did you hear what I said?" she asked irritably, throwing her hands up in the air. "I swear, you NEVER listen to me."  
  
Man-At-Arms, snapped out of his trance and looked at his student apologetically.  
  
"I'm sorry, my mind wandered," he said gently. "What were you saying about the drag?"  
  
The pilot raised her eyebrows and looked at him. For a brief moment, her teacher had a look of such great sadness, one she had never seen on him before. She turned her head and looked to see what Man-At-Arms had been looking at.  
  
About 40 yards away, she could see a young, blonde boy and his friends playing with Orko in the courtyard. The children seemed to be hiding, which was probably the smart thing for him to do if Orko was practicing his magic tricks. But suddenly the boy leapt out of his hiding place and shouted "Boo!" sending Orko straight up into the air in a fit of fright. The boy laughed hysterically, rolling on the ground, surrounded by his comrades.  
  
She wondered what about that scene could cause Man-At-Arms, resident rock and strong shoulder, to become so bothered and yet so detached.  
  
"What were you looking at Duncan," she inquired with slight confusion.  
  
Man-At-Arms looked at her and smiled. He seemed to be reflecting on something and it bothered the young woman. She put her hand on his shoulder and he just nodded and continued to walk back towards the palace.  
  
"Nothing," he said distantly. "Nothing at all, Adora."  
  
Adora nodded her head and continued her pace next to her teacher. They reached the doors to the palace when they heard another loud, female voice behind them.  
  
"Princess, father wait up!"  
  
Both Adora and Man-At-Arms turned to see Teela, the First Lieutenant of the Royal Guard, and Man-At-Arms' daughter, running up to them. Her long red hair hung down and was pinned at the nape of her neck, except some wisps that were hanging in her face. She was sweaty and her uniform was dusty, probably from constant training she put herself through daily.  
  
In her hands she carried three large bouquets of Eternian wildflowers, which she shoved into Adora's hands forcibly one at a time, to the Princess's surprise.  
  
"Here," Teela panted, indicating that she had probably run from wherever she came from. "Ram Man asked me to give you these; Quildor, the mystic one, wanted you to have these; and THESE are from Sgt. Trackett of the Royal Infantry. All given with their 'Utmost admiration for her majesty, the Princess Adora.'"  
  
Teela took a deep breath and looked at her pleadingly.  
  
"Can you PLEASE tell your boyfriends that I am your bodyguard, not your messenger and certainly NOT a delivery woman?" she begged harshly. "Again?"  
  
Adora looked at the flowers and sighed as Man-At-Arms chuckled.  
  
"Sorry Teela," she conceded helplessly, looking at each bouquet nonchalantly. "I have tried to stop this kind of behavior, but I guess it's not sticking, huh?"  
  
Teela crossed her arms, looking very much like her father, and narrowed her eyes.  
  
"Apparently not," she grumbled.  
  
Man-At-Arms laughed heartily at his daughter's response and put his arm around her, squeezing her shoulder.  
  
"Lighten up Teela," he chided between laughs. "People will begin to think you're just jealous of the attention Adora gets. You certainly don't want that now do you?"  
  
Adora and Teela both looked at Duncan with surprise. Teela blushed angrily.  
  
"Jealous?" she howled. "Why should I be jealous? I don't need some man falling all over himself for me! I have more important things to do!"  
  
Adora restrained her own laughter and threw the flowers up into the air. Finally laughing as they floated down on the three of them.  
  
"Here, here Teela!" she chimed in. "Who needs men?"  
  
Teela blushed a little harder and looked down, realizing that her friend and her father were making fun of her 'work before play' attitude, again. She was used to it but wished they understood her better. She kicked some dirt and flowers on the ground and followed the other two as they continued to walk inside.  
  
Later that night Teela sat in the window of her bedroom looking out onto the moonlit plains that surrounded the kingdom. Rays of moonlight caught her face, highlighting her green eyes like emeralds. She sighed and rested her head on the wall.  
  
"I don't know if anyone understands me," she thought to herself.  
  
On the nearby chair lay her uniform, boots and gauntlets: pressed, shined and ready to go - lay prepared for the next day of work and training.  
  
At 22, she was in remarkable shape. She could out fight almost everybody in the kingdom, with the exception of the warrior She-Ra, but not only that, she was smart enough to plan nearly perfect defense strategies against Skeletor's attacks, which had become more and more frequent lately.  
  
She played with a strand of her hair which now hung loose around her shoulders. She had a feeling she would be promoted to the rank of Captain soon, and the thought of it made her warm with pride. But the feeling quickly faded.  
  
It was one thing to be the best, but being the best could often be lonely, a feeling she was more than familiar with.  
  
She wasn't alone, per say. She had her guard friends, Adora, and her father; but she still felt an emptiness inside her that, despite her efforts to fill with work, she simply could not fill.  
  
Sometimes she wondered if things would be different if her mother was alive. She had only ever known Duncan, but she felt comfortable with that being enough.  
  
Often times, the Queen, Marlena, had been a surrogate mother to her when she needed it - those few times where Duncan just couldn't fill the maternal shoes. She always thought how lucky Adora was to have her.  
  
She thought about how her father had accused her of being jealous of Adora earlier that day.  
  
"Jealous, indeed," she thought as she wrinkled her nose.  
  
She and Adora had been good friends since they were younger and were practically like sisters. They used to gossip about girl-stuff, played games, got into trouble, your standard youthful antics.  
  
However, in the last few years, the pressures of her title and Teela's ambition to be in the guard left little time for the long girl talks they used to have. Not to mention the fact that she was now Adora's bodyguard and that meant things had to be kept to a certain amount of professionalism.  
  
Plus, the list of Adora's admirers grew longer and longer every day. And hers, well, the list was short, nearly nonexistent, but she didn't let it get to her. She knew soon the King would try to make a marital match for Adora, and then Adora would have to play the role of obedient wife, cultured diplomat and someday, Queen of Eternia.  
  
"Ah well," she thought. "I guess all friends grow apart at some point or another."  
  
Teela thought again about the aspect of arranged marriages and smirked to herself. She wasn't envious of Adora there. The idea of someone telling her whom she had to spend the rest of her life with seemed ludicrous to her. In fact, marriage, arranged or not, seemed ludicrous to her.  
  
"Besides," she thought as she kept gazing out the window. "I have yet to meet the man that can keep up with me. I certainly won't find a match in someone that I would have to slow down for. Quite frankly, I'm beginning to think such a man doesn't exist anywhere." 


	4. CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4  
  
The Fright Zone...  
  
Hordak stood on the balcony of the Throne Room and gazed at the smoky clouds over the Whispering Woods. He was still in awe that the Rebellion was finally out of his non-existent hair. He smiled and chuckled to himself as he thought about how that was made possible.  
  
"If only Randor knew what a magnificent warrior his son has become," he thought to himself.  
  
"I don't think he would be too pleased, my lord," a voice from behind hissed.  
  
Hordak turned to see Shadow Weaver floating behind him. Hordak knew she was capable of reading his mind. Usually, he kept a mental block up to prevent her from doing as such, but he was so lost in his triumph, he let his guard down. A mistake he would not repeat.  
  
"Weaver," he nodded and turned back to the view. "I assume everything is ready?"  
  
Weaver floated up next to him and put her hands on the balcony edge. She hesitated a moment.  
  
"Hordak, you know it is very risky sending Damas to Eternia," she said slowly. "The magic of Grayskull is great, the Sorceress will know something is wrong the second he steps through the portal. Not to mention the fact that someone else may recognize him. Perhaps this is a bad idea."  
  
Hordak clenched his jaw but did not avert his eyes from the horizon. Shadow Weaver knew her master's mind was made up but nonetheless, she felt in her dark soul that something very bad for the Horde was about to happen.  
  
"I have considered this too Weaver," he responded bitingly. "But it is Prime's will. We have to look at it this way, it's been 22 years since I left Eternia. I doubt anyone will recognize Adam. He certainly won't know anyone there. We've made certain of that."  
  
He turned and looked at Weaver intensely.  
  
"As for the magic of Grayskull and the Sorceress," he continued. "You just make sure you play your part correctly. Your magic should be able to shield Adam long enough so that the Sorceress won't know he's there until it's too late."  
  
Hordak turned back to his view.  
  
"And in the remote chance that his loyalties start to waiver," he said nonchalantly. "You'll be there to put him back into check. I assume these instructions are clear, witch?"  
  
Shadow Weaver nodded. She started to turn away when a thought occurred to her.  
  
"Won't Skeletor recognize the son of his enemy?" she asked worriedly. "He was there the day you kidnapped the child, he will most likely know him when he sees him."  
  
Hordak sighed and looked down.  
  
"Yes," he said. "I considered that also. But I am confident your magic is stronger than his. And if he does recognize Adam, make him understand that if he does anything in anyway to cause a hindrance to this mission, Horde Prime will have him executed before he can pick up that silly little havoc staff of his."  
  
He leaned in close to her, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"Is your mission clear now, Weaver?" he asked forcefully.  
  
The witch crossed her arms and nodded her head.  
  
Behind them the doors to the throne room opened and the general appeared, carrying a small bag and wearing his uniform covered by a long, hooded black cloak.  
  
Hordak smiled as his son approached and dropped the bag at his feet. Damas bowed in front of Hordak and folded his arms. His blue eyes seemed dark and gave away the intensity of the thoughts in his mind.  
  
"My troops have been briefed on the mission," he said sharply. "I will go to Eternia tonight to do some reconnaissance and finish planning the strategies for the assault. Force Captain Catra will lead the troops through the portal in three moons time in which we will commence the attack on the Castle Grayskull. Given that no unforeseen events should occur, I am confident that we can assure a victory."  
  
Hordak put his hands behind his back and nodded as his son detailed his mission. When Damas finished, Hordak tapped in his finger on his chin.  
  
"There is one more thing son," he said. "I have instructed Shadow Weaver to assist you on this mission. You will require her help."  
  
Damas looked taken aback at the idea. In every mission he had ever led, he had never required anyone to assist. He considered it a sign of weakness to require a second in command, let alone one who, other than magic, had no combat skills whatsoever.  
  
"I must protest," Damas stammered. "I can work faster if I don't have someone tagging along. She will only slow me down. I am more than capable of handling this mission without the need for a second."  
  
Hordak tried not to smile at his son's over-confidence. He was indeed the best soldier he had ever known but there were a few times Adam could be a little insubordinate. Hordak cleared his throat and straightened up.  
  
"Adam, I told you Eternia is a magical place," he said forwardly. "Some may try to use magic against you to try to confuse you or render you helpless. You are a great soldier, but you are no sorcerer. Weaver is will be an equalizer that you will need."  
  
Damas narrowed his eyes and looked at the witch standing next to him.  
  
"But sire..." He started to say before Hordak cut him off raising his hand.  
  
"THAT is an order GENERAL," he commanded loudly.  
  
Damas lowered his eyes and nodded.  
  
"Ay, sire," he grumbled.  
  
With that, Weaver waved her hand and a red, swirling portal appeared in the middle of the room. Damas looked at Hordak and bowed. Hordak put his hand on his son's shoulder and smiled as warmly as the cold-blooded dictator could.  
  
"Good luck, my son," he said gently. "Don't forget, your enemies will try to play games with your mind. Remember who you are and why you are there. I have no doubt you will be victorious. I will see you soon."  
  
Damas nodded and picked up his bag. He held an arm out to Shadow Weaver towards the portal.  
  
"Witches first," he growled and then followed Weaver into the portal, leaving a smiling Hordak behind.  
  
*******  
  
On Eternia...  
  
Rays of moonlight shone through the windows and crevices of Castle Grayskull. Deep within the halls of the mystic place, the Sorceress sat on her throne, studying an ancient book.  
  
She was easily a hundred years old but didn't look a day over 30. Her wondrous magic and her position made her as close to immortal as one could be without actually being immortal. Her green eyes memorized every line in the book and her slender finger turned each page delicately.  
  
Slowly, a strange feeling turned inside of her and she looked up from her book. The feathers from her falcon headdress brushed her cheeks slightly, but she didn't notice it. Beads of sweat formed at her brow and she felt fuzzy.  
  
She closed her book and it disappeared into thin air. Looking around the dark castle, she could hear a faint hum, as if something within the castle was almost singing.  
  
She felt ill and placed a hand on her stomach. For a moment, she wondered if something had happened to her daughter, Teela, and opened a mystic window into the palace. To her relief, she saw an image of Teela sleeping soundly, her covers lightly rising and falling as she breathed.  
  
The Sorceress closed the window. And walked down the long stairs to the main floor. The feeling in her stomach churned again and she fought the urge to vomit. She teleported herself to the battlements of the castle and looked out onto the Eternian horizon.  
  
"Something has occurred," she thought to herself. "Something..unnatural."  
  
She looked into the general direction of the dark hemisphere and although she could not see Snake Mountain, she had no doubt in her mind that whatever it was that made her feel sick, was coming from there.  
  
In her mind, she debated calling upon Man-At-Arms and Princess Adora, but she relented.  
  
"I must know more about what's going on first," she thought.  
  
The Sorceress spread her arms out and transformed into Zoar, the mighty falcon, and few off towards Snake Mountain.  
  
As she flew away, a secret chamber deep in the recesses of Grayskull filled with light. The chamber, which had been sealed for centuries, had huge, thick stone doors that no mortal could ever move. The humming sound the Sorceress had heard earlier, seemed to reverberate with the walls of the chamber as peaking rays of light highlighted the growing moss on the doors.  
  
Behind the large sealed doors, inside the unseen chamber, a long, silver sword seemed to come alive with brilliant light. As quickly as it came alive though, the light faded and the sword fell cold and quiet. 


	5. CHAPTER 5

******Disclaimer in chapter 1  
  
******Thanks to everyone so far for the feedback..and for those who want to know when I'm going to finish 'Return' let's just say I'm working on it and it's coming soon. Anyways, here's the next installment. Feel free to let me know what you think!  
  
CHAPTER 5:  
  
"Where is he already?"  
  
Skeletor grumbled as he tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. His patience grew thin and he was irritable. It wasn't enough that he had to put up with some young hot-shot but it would be nice if the hot shot were on time so he could at least do something productive with the remainder of his day.  
  
Evil-Lyn tried to soothe her master and placed a recently manicured hand on her hip.  
  
"Maybe he likes to be fashionably late," she cooed.  
  
Skeletor glared at her and, taking a hint, she backed away from him. In the shadows his henchmen: Trap-Jaw, Tri-Clops, MerMan and Beast-man stood waiting, silently. More than anything they were too afraid to say anything so as not to incur their master's wrath.  
  
Skeletor sighed. Even with a powerful army and wondrous magical abilities at his disposal, he has never been able to gain access to Castle Grayskull. Now Horde Prime was losing faith in him. This latest revelations were too much and insane frustration built up inside of him.  
  
He frowned. He would never let this little Horde lackey show him up. He just had to figure out how to get around him and take credit for Grayskull's fall, in the event that the lackey was successful.  
  
His concentration broken when, out of nowhere, a red, glowing portal opened in the throne room. He leaned back as a slim figure dressed in a full- length red gown bearing the symbol of the Horde appeared from the portal. Her face was covered but Skeletor saw two green flickering lights where he imagined her eyes were.  
  
The figure hovered above the ground and crossed her arms as the second figure, shrouded in a black cloak, walked through the portal and into the throne room. The second figure, was obviously male and well-built, but Skeletor could not see his face as it was shrouded by the hood of his cloak. The man set down a small bag at his feet and looked up at Skeletor, his facial features were now more highlighted by the moonlight that was shining into the throne room.  
  
"Skeletor, I presume," the man growled. "I trust you were expecting me."  
  
Next to him, the lady in red looked around, as if scopeing the place. She appeared to be very focused on where she was and on her traveling companion. But there was a nervous quality about her that made Evil-Lyn take notice.  
  
Skeletor nodded and stood up, his blue muscles rippling as he moved. In an effort to intimidate his guest, he held his havoc staff to his right and stared at the man intensely, waiting to see if he would flinch.  
  
"I am Skeletor," he snarled. "And I can only assume that you are the great General Damas we have heard so much about?"  
  
Next to him, Evil-Lyn sighed as her pale cheeks flushed. Skeletor would have rolled his eyes if he had any, but still paid no heed to her lust. He was more bothered by the fact that despite his intimidation efforts, the General did not flinch. In fact, he merely crossed his arms and looked back at the overlord.  
  
"Ay," he said gruffly. "I am General Damas of the Great Hordak's army."  
  
He pointed at the floating witch without looking at her.  
  
"This is Shadow Weaver, mystic advisor to Hordak."  
  
Damas looked around the room and at Skeletor's minions, most of who could not believe that the man in front of them was the same god-like warrior they had been told about. He had no special powers that they could see, and while he was intimidating in appearance, nothing about his demeanor frightened them. They wondered if all they had heard was true. In his mind, Beast-Man wondered if he could take down this great military leader in a one on one fight. He resigned himself to believing he could and chuckled under his breath.  
  
Evil-Lyn on the other hand was taken hook, line and sinker. The witch stared at the General with a girlish flirtation in her purple eyes and she ran her hand up and down her staff seductively.  
  
Damas, however, ignored her and approached Skeletor, almost looking him right into the eyesockets. The others were amazed that he showed no fear and what appeared to be no respect for Skeletor.  
  
"I assume you have been briefed as to the details of my mission?" Damas asked. "I wish to get started immediately."  
  
A twinge in Skeletor's head nagged at him. There was something about this young man that he couldn't quite put his finger on. I strange sense of déjà vu passed over him. Perhaps he had seen him before at headquarters, but he didn't recall ever seeing anyone so young in the presence of Prime.  
  
No, there was something else. He could see the General's features, and there was something in his eyes he thought he recognized. Something familiar. Stranger yet, each time the man moved closed to him, the more strange he felt. As if he were ill. He stared harder at the General, trying to decipher the mysterious questions in his head.  
  
Shadow Weaver floated up next to the general and folded her arms across her chest. Instantly, Skeletor's mind snapped back into mission mode and he sat back down on his throne. He garnered that whatever it was that struck him about the General, was probably inconsequential in the long run. It was time to get down to business.  
  
"Yes," he replied snidely. "Your mission. Your mission of the 'utmost importance.' What is it you will need from me to complete this mission of yours? I should think the legendary Damas who defeated a whole world would not need any assistance from we that are so obviously inept."  
  
Damas frowned and gritted his teeth. No one dared talk to him like that and live to tell the tale. However, this wasn't Etheria where he could bind the infidel up and put him through the most excruciating pain they had ever endured. He had to be diplomatic, despite his wanting to gut this failure that dared sit on a throne and claim that he is a high commander in Prime's service.  
  
There was something else bothering Damas. It pulled at his insides ever since he stepped out of the portal. He was nauseous, but refused to give any indication that felt poorly. He chalked it up to the portal travel and focused on the immediate task in front of him.  
  
"I expect your FULL cooperation," he growled at an unwincing Skeletor. "As does Lord Prime. Perhaps if you shut that bony trap of yours long enough, we can get through this mission successfully."  
  
There was a gasp in the throne room. No one ever dared speak to Skeletor like that. Evil-Lyn was so overcome by power hungry lust that she almost fainted. Her cheeks burned hotly.  
  
Skeletor, on the other hand, was less than amused. He leaned in close to Damas' face and sneered.  
  
"This may be your mission, BOY, but never forget who's in charge here," the dark leader hissed.  
  
Damas didn't flinch and merely stared back at Skeletor.  
  
"I shan't," he said defiantly. "Because for the time being, I am calling the shots here. It was decreed by the mighty Prime. Now, if you're finished babbling, I have important work to attend to."  
  
The two continued talking briskly back and forth, occasionally sharing an insult or two. So captured was everyone's interest that no one noticed the large orange falcon that flew into the mouth of Snake Mountain and hid behind a large stone gargoyle.  
  
The Sorceress's mind took in everything she could see and tried to listen but she could hear little from her hiding spot. She dared not move any closer out of fear of discovery. Instead, she recorded her visual observations in her mind. Skeletor and his minions were talking intensely with two others. Two strangers. She felt ill again but fought it.  
  
The falcon strained to get a better look. The one, a female most likely, seemed to be some kind of enchantress, since she was hovering about a foot off the ground. Her back was turned to the Sorceress so she could not she her face. The other, a man judging by his build and demeanor, seemed to be instructing Skeletor on something. The Sorceress almost chuckled inwardly, almost. She found it odd that someone who would act in such a way towards Skeletor was still standing.  
  
The man must be of some great importance to Skeletor, other wise he would be dead by now, she concluded.  
  
"That can only mean trouble," she thought to herself.  
  
She strained her falcon eyes to get a better look. The man turned to pick up his bag, facing her direction. She tried to make out a physical description of him but his face was hidden in the shadows of the long cloak he wore.  
  
She strained harder. She thought she saw something familiar about him, but was desperate to get a better look. There was something she recognized, and she tried to make out what it was. Her head swirled with nausea.  
  
Suddenly, her falcon eyes widened as she came to terms with what she was seeing.  
  
"No," she thought. "It's impossible! It can not be!"  
  
The falcon flew out of the mountain as fast as she could. As she soared through the winds thoughts ran wild in her mind. She had to summon Man-At- Arms and Princess Adora as soon as possible. She knew terrible danger was just around the corner.  
  
"The Horde," she thought to herself as the vision of the red horde emblem on the man's chest caused tormented memories to spring forth in her mind. "The Horde has returned to Eternia."  
  
*******  
  
Man-At-Arms sat in his workshop fiddling with his memory projector while the rest of the palace inhabitants slept.  
  
For some reason on this night, his mind flooded with memories. These were not happy memories, though, these were visions of the past that part of him wished to forget and another part of him fought to preserve every detail. Memories of a cursed and tragic day for the people of Eternia, especially for the royal family and himself.  
  
Long ago, he swore to himself that he would never use his projector to analyze his memory of that day. There was nothing more he could do, he reminded himself. The search lasted for years with no leads. Digging up these painful memories would only torture him.  
  
Man-At-Arms examined the headpiece of the projector closely and took a deep breath.  
  
"Not knowing is torture enough," he said. "But maybe time will have given me the clarity to see something I didn't see before."  
  
He leaned back in his chair and took his helmet off revealing his salt and pepper colored hair. He put in the earpieces in and placed the bronze headpiece over his forehead and squinted as he adjusted the fit. He then pushed a few buttons and watched as the pictures of his memories played out on the white wall next to him.  
  
"Stop you fiend!" he heard himself say as he watched the events through younger eyes. "Hordak, I command you to stop!"  
  
He saw the silver armored man, well sort of a man, stop and turn. In one arm he carried a long laser rifle. One that he had used hours earlier on many of Duncan's friends and fellow guards. Their blood was smattered on the front of the evil one's uniform. In the other arm, he held a squirming infant. Man-At-Arms shoved tree branches out of his way and pointed the stun ray at Hordak, who only looked at him with an evil grin.  
  
"You wouldn't dare fire at me and risk harming the boy, Man-At-Arms," he seethed as he pointed his rifle at the child. "Put your weapon down or I'll kill him myself."  
  
Man-At-Arms rubbed his temple uneasily as he watched himself drop his laser. Hordak's grin got bigger.  
  
"I thought you'd see things my way," he cackled.  
  
Man-At-Arms surveyed the area around them. They were a good couple of miles still away from Snake Mountain and many more miles away from the palace or Castle Grayskull. They were alone, on the outskirts of the wastelands. There was no back-up available to help him. He was on his own.  
  
Hordak laughed and pointed the rifle at him. His black lips curled back in a defiant sneer.  
  
"You may have prevented me from taking the palace," he laughed. "But I did get one souvenir!"  
  
The infant squirmed and started to cry.  
  
As Man-At-Arms watched the projection, his eyes teared and he once again felt his heart start to break. He debated on whether or not he should stop the projection. Despite the growing knot in his chest, he relented and kept going.  
  
"Please," he watched himself beg Hordak. "Please, spare him. Take me instead, but please don't hurt the boy!"  
  
Hordak looked at him with contempt.  
  
"I won't hurt him," he sneered. "I'll kill him, but I promise you he won't feel a thing."  
  
Man-At-Arms watched as he jumped up and charged at Hordak.  
  
"No!" he yelled. "I'll kill you myself before I let you hurt that child!"  
  
This was the part that made Man-At-Arms cringe. Hordak raised his rifle and fired at the charging soldier, striking him in the right shoulder. Duncan was thrown backwards and landed on his back, the laser wound in his shoulder bleeding and throbbing in pain.  
  
He started to lose consciousness. Man-At-Arms struggled to focus his memory as the picture started to fade. As a backup, he pushed some buttons on the nearby computer and started to download the projection.  
  
He watched as Hordak leaned over him and placed a foot on his chest.  
  
"Sorry Man-At-Arms," he cackled. "But I'm afraid young Prince Adam will be coming with me."  
  
He turned and walked away. This was the part where Man-At-Arms had blacked out, only later to find Hordak and the prince gone. He focused as hard as he could to remember.  
  
He watched himself start to drift out, and a wave of disappointment swept over. Nonetheless, he kept focusing. The image grew darker and darker as the memory of his unconscious set in.  
  
He reached up and his fingers had just touched the headband when he heard the mumbling. He stopped and tried to concentrate on what was being said, but could make nothing out. He had been too groggy from the blast and gave into his unconsciousness.  
  
Man-At-Arms let out a deep sigh and leaned back, removing the headpiece from his forehead.  
  
"What was that sound?" he asked himself under his breath. "It sounded like Hordak speaking. It might have been a clue to where he was going..if I could only remember."  
  
He slammed his fists down on his desk in frustration and threw things around his office few minutes.  
  
Even though it had been more than 20 years, the pain of that day still ate him alive. He had failed. Failed the royal family, failed the Sorceress, failed Eternia and worse yet, as he had come to discover over the years, he failed Adam. Because of his mistake, he cost everyone the Prince and as the Sorceress had once explained to him, one of the greatest warriors Eternia would have ever known.  
  
After he was done with his frustrated tirade, he wiped his eyes and looked around his desk. The light on his computer blinked, indicating that he had just downloaded something successfully.  
  
A light went off in Duncan's head and he furiously started punching buttons and playing with the machine. He worked intensively all through the night, never stopping once for a break.  
  
Hours later, the morning light shined through the window of his workshop as Man-At-Arms snoozed lightly on his desk. In his hand, he clutched a printout.  
  
Princess Adora burst through the door and ran to her teacher's desk. Her hair flew widely around her and her face was the expression of worry.  
  
She shook Man-At-Arms by the shoulder in an effort to revive him.  
  
"Duncan," she yelled. "Duncan, wake up!"  
  
She looked around the workshop. The whole place was in disarray, papers everywhere, machine parts scattered. She wondered if he had been attacked in the night. She shook him again.  
  
"Duncan! You've gotta wake up!!!!!" she yelled once more, sounding a little like She-Ra as she did.  
  
Man-At-Arms stirred and opened his eyes. As his vision began to focus, he saw the lavender and white combat suit Adora always wore for her training. He looked up at her and smiled.  
  
"I must have dozed off," he yawned and started to sit up when he realized what he had in his hand.  
  
His eyes got wide and he ignored Adora as she started talking to him about something. He looked at the paper again and a big smile crawled across his face.  
  
At the same time, Adora frantically explained to him that the Sorceress had contacted her and wanted them both at Grayskull immediately, that Eternia was in danger from a threat greater than Skeletor and that they had to act quickly.  
  
They looked at each other and at the same time yelled:  
  
"We've got to get to Grayskull!" 


	6. CHAPTER 6

**Sorry this took so long..life has been chaos lately but hopefully I can get these next chapters banged out fairly quickly. Again Disclaimer in Chapter 1, please don't sue and any and all feedback is welcomed.  
  
CHAPTER 6  
  
The morning dew glinted on the leaves of the trees and on the soft ground where Damas had made camp late the night before.  
  
He had been anxious to get out of that stank sewer called Snake Mountain and to get on with his mission of overtaking Castle Grayskull. He sat pensively in his tent and studied the maps drawn by scout troops that had investigated the area previously. His left index finger tapped incessantly on the corner of the map and he sorted out the details of his attack strategy in his mind.  
  
Weaver had disappeared in the night, not that it concerned the General. In fact, he welcomed the silence and privacy to deal with the preparations. She could stay gone for all he cared. Though she had played a large part of his upbringing and often referred to herself as his mother, to him, she was merely a thorn in his side. Nothing more, nothing less.  
  
In fact, he couldn't remember a time when Weaver wasn't hanging around him or Hordak. He never really paid attention before but it was like she was guarding some secret from them. Not so much protecting them as she was protecting herself or some secret she dared not reveal to them.  
  
Damas frowned at the thought and wondered for a brief second what secrets lay in the witch's evil mind. She was a cunning, ruthless killer, just as most of Hordak's high-ranking officials were. He'd seen what she was capable of in battle, but while the others knew better than to cross her, he himself held no fear of her. Perhaps it was his father's teachings, perhaps it was her constant presence in his life. Regardless, if Weaver had ever wanted to hurt him, something prevented her from doing so.  
  
Damas growled at himself and rubbed his bloodshot blue eyes. He had been awake all night and his fatigue was starting to get the better of him. He could not allow that. He stepped out of his tent and stretched in the forest clearing.  
  
"No time to dwell on the mystery that is Shadow Weaver," he thought to himself as he surveyed the land around him. "I've got more important tasks at hand."  
  
There was the upcoming attack on Grayskull. He knew that was his mission and he would fulfill it, damned be to anything that would get in his way.  
  
But there was something else he aimed to do while he was here.  
  
He walked a ways into the forest, knelt down and examined some animal tracks in the fresh ground. Although he could fight hunger for awhile, he would have to hunt soon. A growling stomach could be distraction when fighting off the enemy.  
  
"The enemy," Damas thought to himself. "I have yet to see the face of this enemy and yet I have vowed to kill him."  
  
He recalled his father's story of the assassin sent to kill him as an infant and his cheeks flamed red with fury. Before he would launch this attack on Grayskull, he would tend to the assassin, as he would to the cowardly King Randor. He would make them pay, in ways so great even the gods would be fearful of Damas' wrath.  
  
He considered the task at hand. Captain Catra and the rest of the battalion would arrive in two days now. Time was not on his side. He would have to make his attack on the Eternian palace today maybe even tonight, kill the two infidels and disappear into the shadows again to prepare for the fight against Grayskull.  
  
But first things were first. Damas reached into his tent and pulled out a hunting laser-rifle he had brought along as part of his personal stock of ammunition. He slung the rifle on his shoulder and prepared to set out on the hunt, following the tracks in the mud.  
  
He followed the tracks for about a half-mile before he saw the creature chewing on a fish it had caught in the nearby stream. Damas knelt down in between two trees a behind a large, moss-covered boulder about 20 feet away from his soon to be meal.  
  
The animal wasn't much to look at. It was large but scrawny. Damas thought it closely resembled one of Catra's pets she kept locked up in her den, but this one did not appear to be ferocious. The big cat munched happily on its breakfast, oblivious to Damas' presence.  
  
Damas placed the rifle on the boulder to steady his shot. The creature would not feel a thing, it would be over quickly. He looked down the barrel of the rifle and aimed, his finger lightly grazing the trigger.  
  
Damas closed one eye and shifted his weight a little. He held his breath as he squeezed a little more lightly on the trigger.  
  
Just then another creature emerged from the trees, lurking low to the ground and growling. It crawled on its four much larger paws toward the other cat, which had now sensed danger and was no longer focused on the fish. The scrawny cat's green hair started to stand up on its end and its yellow eyes looked around, cautiously..searching for the cause of his heightened senses.  
  
Damas looked at the new cat and beheld it's magnificence. It was huge compared to his previous prey, slick black fur that would make a fine pelt, large claws and gigantic teeth. This creature was a far more superior kill than the other mangy animal.  
  
The scrawny green cat beheld its new, larger company and cowered, slinking away backwards and abandoning its breakfast. Its competitor reared back and unleashed a monstrous roar, one so loud that Damas himself nearly fell backwards.  
  
The green cat took off like a flash, leaving the bully with his breakfast. The large cat wasted no time and began working on what was left of the fish.  
  
Damas smiled and steadied his shot again. Strands of dirty blonde hair fell down into his eyes but he dared not move to brush them away. Nothing could alert this animal to his presence, for he knew in his gut that it would be a matter of seconds before it could pounce on top of him and rip him to shreds.  
  
He lightly touched the trigger again and aimed his shot. He shifted lightly again, but this time, a few leaves underneath his knee crackled. Although the sound was soft, it was heard loud and clear by the monstrous cat.  
  
Damas froze. The cat's huge ears pointed back as his head snapped up and its blazing eyes met Damas wide blue ones.  
  
The cat started moving slowly towards him, closing the 20 foot gap with stalking movements and long strides. Damas steadied himself again.  
  
15 feet. The cat kept moving, growling as he approached his next kill. Damas smiled at the animal as he beheld the promise of the hunt. He aimed at the animal's head and squeezed the trigger.  
  
But nothing happened.  
  
Damas shook the rifle as he realized the trigger mechanism was stuck.  
  
10 feet. The cat's growl was louder now as its strides brought him closer and closer to the General.  
  
Damas stood to his feet and tried his shot again, to no avail. The cat had jumped up onto the boulder now and was staring at him, daring him to make a move.  
  
Damas through the rifle down and removed a long hunting blade from his boot. Not preferably the way he wanted to hunt, but if it was going to be between him and the cat, then we was going to fight all the way.  
  
The cat seemed to grin as if to call him a "foolish boy." Its back arched and the animal leapt into the air on top of the General, knocking him to the ground and pinning his arm to the ground. The hunting blade fell from Damas' hand.  
  
Damas dared not show the animal any fear though. If he were to die by the teeth of this beast, then he would go bravely. His mind said this, but his heart was beating so fast it was about to jump out of his chest.  
  
The cat roared again, in triumph. Its foul fishy breath make Damas close his eyes and its mouth got closer to his throat. The cat's saliva dripped onto his neck.  
  
He squeezed his eyes and waited for death to come.  
  
But it didn't.  
  
Instead there was another roar and Damas felt the weight of the big cat being shoved off of him. He opened his eyes to see a green and yellow blur flash over him and knock the monster cat to the ground. He stood up and watched in amazement as the scrawny cat and the monster cat circled each other, growling, threatening each other.  
  
Damas picked up his blade again and continued to watch, despite his nagging instincts to get the hells out of there. Something about this cat-fight had his attention.  
  
The monster cat seemed to behold both Damas and the green cat as its prey, and the green cat had been scared to death of it just moments before.  
  
But whenever the monster cat inched toward Damas, the green cat would get in front of Damas.  
  
"If I didn't know any better," he thought. "I'd swear this mangy creature is protecting me."  
  
He continued to watch in confusion as the two cats swiped at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, Damas snapped out of it, reached into his belt and pulled out a small flare.  
  
He threw the device at the big cat and watched as the flare exploded, scaring the big animal so much that it ran howling into the forest.  
  
The flare not only scared the big cat, but the scrawny green cat now hid shivering behind Damas.  
  
The General looked at the animal, at first with great disdain for the cowardly creature, but then his stern features softened a bit.  
  
"After all," he thought as he ran his hands through his hair. "He did just save my life."  
  
Damas knelt down to the shaking cat and smiled a little. He reached out and gently scratched the animal behind one of its green ears. The cat stopped shaking and looked at Damas with pleading eyes.  
  
Despite himself, Damas laughed.  
  
"Well," he said lightheartedly to the cat. "For one so brave you are really quite the cringer, aren't you?" 


	7. CHAPTER 7

Disclaimer in Chapter 1  
  
**Sorry I disappeared. Life has been rather hectic but I promiiiiiiiiiise that I will update more frequently now. Enjoy!  
  
CHAPTER 7  
  
The wind whipped through Adora's long blonde hair as the wind raider cut through the sky at high speed.  
  
Duncan had been very quiet since she found him in his workshop asleep. He hadn't even responded to her questions about why the room was in such disarray. It appeared to her that his focus was intent on getting to Grayskull, fast, and it seemed that nothing was going to get in his way.  
  
"If he takes one more sharp turn at this speed, I'm going to fall out, and that will slow us down," she thought to herself as she noticed her knuckles had turned white from gripping her seat.  
  
She frowned and put her hand over her abdomen. She had felt off balance since late last night but had chalked it up to fatigue. The Sorceress's telepathic message had been so vague, she wondered if her teacher knew something she didn't.  
  
Anyone that knew Princess Adora knew very well that she did NOT like to be kept in the dark about anything. She opened her mouth as if to ask something, but quickly closed it again as the nausea swept over her once more.  
  
Man-At-Arms noticed her movement and gave her a side-glance.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, the tone of light concern in his voice.  
  
Adora nodded and relaxed a bit. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could smell the pine from the trees in the Evergreen forest below. She loved Eternia, the beauty of the land and the people. It was her home, and she was proud to defend it.  
  
But still there were times she grew bored with her life. She craved action and its unpredictability. There were even days she was secretly grateful that Skeletor was around to keep her occupied so that her time wouldn't always be spent being coddled by her parents and whatever suitor her father had lined up. Although she would never admit it openly, she longed for a life away from the dull niceties of being the crowned princess. Teela had that kind of life, and Adora envied her of that.  
  
Realizing that her teacher was still looking at her, she remembered his question.  
  
"Yes, I skipped breakfast this morning and I think my stomach is mad at me for it," she replied half-heartedly.  
  
Man-At-Arms nodded and returned his attention back to the sky. Adora knew what she said wasn't the whole truth, but Duncan was acting so strangely, she didn't want to worry him with something even she was unsure about. Maybe the Sorceress would be able to enlighten her.  
  
Adora returned her attention to the horizon as the outline of Grayskull started to become apparent. However, a nagging feeling in her chest prevented her mind from wandering.  
  
Man-At-Arms wasn't the only one who was acting strangely. Teela had been so distant the last few weeks that they barely spoke to each other. Adora felt partly responsible for that, afterall Teela was her best friend, but the duties of the palace and her responsibilities to Grayskull had kept her busy. They hadn't had a good talk in ages. Adora missed that. Teela was like her sister, they had always told each other everything.  
  
Well, not everything. Teela didn't know that Adora was She-Ra and had been for a while now. She wondered how her friend would take it if she ever found out.  
  
Adora shuddered and spaced out to her surroundings as she fell into her memories. She remembered that day about three years ago when she found out about her warrior destiny.  
  
Skeletor and his minions had launched a massive strike in several places on Eternia, including Eternos and the Royal Palace. The royal family had been evacuated but in the melee she and her parents had gotten separated.  
  
Adora knew if she were captured Skeletor would use her to destroy her family, or just kill her for his own pleasure, so she ran into the woods, the safest place she knew.  
  
As if by magic, she didn't stop running either. As if something was urging her on, she ran until the woods broke and she was standing in front of Castle Grayskull. She remembered the breath caught in her throat as the giant jawbridge lowered itself to her. To her amazement, she felt safe and walked into the dark castle.  
  
It was there she met the Sorceress. She was like a goddess and despite her instincts, which told her to run; Adora knew in her heart she could trust her.  
  
But there was something strange about that day, well, something strange in a sad way. When the Sorceress gave Adora the Sword of Protection, which she would thereafter use to become She-Ra, the mystic woman seemed guarded, unfocused, strangely enough it was as if she were expecting someone else.  
  
Adora snapped back to reality as Duncan started to descend the raider.  
  
"I guess it doesn't matter," she thought to herself. "The Sorceress has never said anything about anyone else defending Eternia using the magic of Grayskull, so I must be doing something right."  
  
Man-At-Arms landed the raider smoothly and jumped out. Adora followed as her teacher practically ran into the open mouth of the castle.  
  
"What has gotten into him?" Adora frowned again as she tried to keep up.  
  
They ran through long, dark corridors and up many staircases before they arrived at the doors of the great throne room. Without hesitation, Man-At- Arms swung open the massive doors and headed inside.  
  
The two entered the great room where the Sorceress, in all her power and glory, sat perched on the high throne.  
  
Amazingly enough the wisest of Eternian women looked worried, a sight Adora had never seen on the Sorceress's face before. Whatever it was that made her look like that, Adora knew must be bad.  
  
"You summoned us, Sorceress?" Adora inquired loudly, her voice echoing off the castle's inner walls. Beside her, Man-At-Arms fidgeted, looking very anxiously at the Sorceress.  
  
The goddess seemed to read his mind.  
  
"Something troubles you, Man-At-Arms, what is it?" she asked, her mere voice exuding with magic.  
  
She descended the long staircase without ever touching a stair and approached them. Man-At-Arms held out a piece of paper to her and looked anxiously at Adora, who returned his look, with confusion.  
  
"I have news regarding an old…….situation," he hesitated. "But I will explain later. Why have you summoned us?"  
  
Adora raised an eyebrow. If someone didn't clue her in soon, she was going to have the mother of all fits in the middle of Grayskull.  
  
The Sorceress took the paper and looked at him strangely. She appeared to be working out a puzzle in her mind.  
  
"The Horde has returned to Eternia," she said directly. "Or at least two members have. You can be assured more will follow, perhaps even Hordak himself. Eternia and Grayskull are in the greatest of dangers."  
  
Adora was all kinds of confused now. She opened her mouth to speak but Duncan cut her off. Annoyed she glared at him. He, however, seemed to forget she was in the room.  
  
"The Horde? After all these years? Are you sure?" he had never questioned the Sorceress before, but now, he did.  
  
She didn't seem put off by it though and merely nodded.  
  
"Yes, Man-At-Arms," she replied earnestly. "I'm quite sure. I saw two of them myself, at Snake Mountain. Something is being planned, I can feel it in the very core of my being."  
  
She walked as she studied the paper Man-At-Arms had given her. She continued elaborating on the arrival.  
  
"There was a woman, an ancient of another realm I presume. She possesses great, dark magic," she frowned. "I could sense her power and the darkness was shattering."  
  
Adora tried to follow what she was being told despite her confusion. If she didn't get answers from the Sorceress, she would beat them out of Man-At- Arms if she had too.  
  
Man-At-Arms listened intently as the Sorceress went on.  
  
"And there was a man," she said looking into his stern face. "I could not see his face but he wore the Horde symbol upon his breast."  
  
She finished reading the paper and stared at Man-At-Arms for a moment. What the paper revealed, however, she was not going to elaborate on. Not in Adora's presence anyway.  
  
"There was a strong veil of evil around him," she practically whispered. "One I could not see through in my Zoar form. But there is magic consuming him, powerful, dark, controlling magic."  
  
Adora bit her lip when she heard what the Sorceress said next.  
  
"There is also vengeance in his soul and a lust for power in his head," she said bluntly. "His evil may be equal to that of Skeletor's. If they are plotting something together, you can rest assured that the target will be Grayskull and the Elder's power."  
  
Adora stiffened. She had fought Skeletor and his cronies countless times. She was not about to back down on some power hungry monster that appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"That's not going to happen," she said defiantly. "When he shows his face you can bet I'll…."  
  
Suddenly, and as if she knew it was going to happen, the Sorceress whirled around. Light encompassed them, so bright that both Adora and Man-At-Arms were blinded. A loud humming reverberated in the walls of the castle and while the light faded, the humming, almost melodical, grew louder.  
  
Adora covered her ears and reached for her sword.  
  
"What is going on here?!" She asked loudly as the Sorceress and Man-At-Arms just stared at each other. Neither of them responded, which Adora interpreted as a bad sign.  
  
She started to pull her sword from its scabbard.  
  
"For the honor of…."  
  
"Wait!" the Sorceress yelled as she clasped a hand around Adora's wrist.  
  
Adora looked at her with confusion and lowered her hand. The humming increased so loudly that the walls seemed to vibrate. Wide-eyed, Adora looked at her teacher who seemed mesmerized by what was going on.  
  
"We should evacuate!!!" she yelled, but no one seemed to pay heed. "It feels like this place is going to blow!!!"  
  
And then there was a loud explosion and the thunder from it resonated through the halls of the great castle. All three were knocked to the ground. While none of them were injured, they all appeared to be in shock.  
  
After some time, the shaking ceased and the three stood up and looked at each other. No one appeared to be injured but the experience had left them a bit shaken.  
  
"Okay someone please tell me what the……" Adora started to ask but was cut off as the great doors to the throne room flew open in a bellowing gust of wind, knocking all three of them back down to the ground.  
  
It hovered in the doorway for a few minutes and then began to levitate towards them. They all said nothing as they watched the object glide toward them, smoothly, gracefully, by pure magic. The humming returned but in a lighter form and, as they all were before, it was encircled in light.  
  
The Sorceress stared. Man-At-Arms mouth lay agape. Adora studied the object's features in amazement.  
  
"Duncan?" she whispered as it floated close to them. Finally it stopped and hung over their heads.  
  
He could not respond verbally, only physically as he grasped the Princess's shoulder to yank her out of the way as the object fell, created a thunderous clanging sound as it hit the ground.  
  
And there it lay motionless for what appeared to be an eternity.  
  
Finally, Adora spoke and broke the long silence.  
  
"That's looks a lot like.……"  
  
She stopped as the Sorceress knelt down and very gingerly picked up the object on the floor. As she held it, light flashed from it and she jerked back. Not in pain, but in some sort of transference. She dropped the object and doubled over.  
  
Man-At-Arms came to her aid immediately as Adora, transfixed on the object, just stared. He put an arm around the Sorceress's back and tried to help her up. She stood still for a moment and looked into the old warrior's eyes.  
  
"It's all connected, Duncan," she whispered feebly. "Your memories, our illnesses, the strangers, this……." She pointed to the object on the floor. "Its all happening now for a reason…….his destiny is unfolding."  
  
Man-At-Arms was puzzled but he kept a firm grip to steady her.  
  
"What do you mean?" he inquired softly and out of Adora's earshot. "Teelana, what is going on???"  
  
The Sorceress closed her eyes and smiled broadly. But a few seconds later and with the same fervor as before, she opened them wide and grasped Man-At- Arms' collar.  
  
"You must stop him, Duncan," she pleaded. "There is still hope for him…….there is still goodness and love deep within him. We can help him find it."  
  
Man-At-Arms was more confused now than ever and the Sorceress appeared to be on the verge of a blackout. So he held her tighter and tried to keep her focused long enough for an explanation.  
  
"Tell me what's going on!" he begged as he shook her lightly.  
  
Adora finally took notice but did not move. The Sorceress smiled at her and then touched the object on the floor.  
  
"He's here Duncan," she whispered. "Its time for him to claim his birthright."  
  
With that, the Sorceress passed out in his arms. Adora stared at him for a second and looked at the object on the floor. Man-At-Arms lifted the sleeping goddess and after climbing many a stair, returned her to her throne where he gently laid her head on the armrest.  
  
He turned and started to descend the long stairway again when he saw Adora pick up the object and study it. As he reached the floor, she walked over and thrust the object in his face.  
  
Considering what it was, Man-At-Arms surprisingly did not flinch. But Adora did.  
  
"Duncan," she asked boldly. "Whose sword is this?" 


	8. CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8  
  
Damas studied the outskirts of the palace. The bustling market place in Eternos City didn't distract him in the slightest as people bumped into and shuffled passed him. He had a score to settle and he meant to settle it.  
  
He pulled his cloak tighter to his chest as what appeared to be six royal guardsmen, marched by. He turned back to the gates of the palace.  
  
"Six guards at the back gate, eight at the front," he thought.  
  
Damas frowned. The odds were that there were many more inside. Even with his great skills, he wouldn't be able to take them all on by himself.  
  
He studied the structure some more. His best bet would be to wait until nightfall and get in undetected. Sneak into the palace and wait. Create a diversion, attack Randor and leave in midst of the ensuing chaos. It was simple, but effective.  
  
He could attack the coward Randor as he slept but his taste for vengeance called for an open attack. He wanted this King to beg for his life.  
  
He rubbed his chin.  
  
"Yes," he thought to himself. "Nightfall."  
  
He started to walk away when he heard a soft feline cry behind him. Damas stopped and rolled his eyes. He turned to see the blasted green tiger seated at his feet.  
  
"Stop following me," he growled softly. A woman who passed him giggled at the grown man talking to an animal. Damas glared at her and she turned and walked away quickly.  
  
He started to walk away again but the tiger followed. The fact that this animal was sticking to him like glue bothered him but not as much as something else.  
  
Normally, he would have speared the animal, taken its pelt as a trophy and feasted on the meat, but not this time. He didn't know why, but the idea of killing the animal not only didn't appeal to him, it sickened him with guilt.  
  
He could feel in his very soul that he didn't want to hurt the animal. It saved his life and for the first time in his life, he was grateful; a new feeling for the General who was known by reputation to show no mercy.  
  
He felt strange about it, but in the end, he figured he would save his energy for Randor.  
  
Damas sighed and started back for his camp. "Come on then," he conceded to the animal.  
  
As he walked, he decided that he would take the cat back to Etheria with him. If nothing else, maybe Catra could make the animal more fierce with some training.  
  
"It wouldn't do for me to have a 'cringer' for a companion," he thought to himself.  
  
He studied the city and as he did something inside of him twitched. He couldn't exactly pinpoint it but he had the strangest feeling about the market.  
  
He looked at the palace, the surrounding grounds and the people. And that same feeling inside him twitched again.  
  
He stared at the palace and his stomach turned.  
  
It was like deja-vu and it nagged him.  
  
He reached up and clutched his stomach. Despite eating some fish from the stream that morning, he still felt sick and his head spun a bit more now than it had earlier. He decided when he returned to camp, he would sleep for a bit and then awaken long enough to take care of some details of the Grayskull attack before his siege on the palace.  
  
He had it all planned out and he wasn't about to be slowed down by some nagging illness.  
  
The sudden loud humming sound in his ears was another story, though.  
  
Damas clamped his hands over his ears and gritted his teeth in pain. The sound was loud, piercing and reverberating throughout his entire body. With tears of pain forming in his eyes he looked around and noticed no one else seem to be affected by this.  
  
Except the tiger who had its head buried under its paws.  
  
The world started spinning as the humming got louder and louder. The bustling market went on completely unaffected. Damas clamped his eyes shut.  
  
"They don't hear it," he concluded to himself. "But why do I hear it? Why does 'cringer' hear it?"  
  
The pain became consuming. He tried to control it, tried using every tactic he had been taught but found it was beyond him. He fell to his knees and let out a deafening roar.  
  
"What is going on??" his mind screamed. "What trickery is this!?"  
  
The market around him stopped and he could barely hear people asking him if he needed help. Wrenching one hand free from his head he thrusted his fist against the ground as if the mere thought of beating the dirt would stop the pain and the sound in his head.  
  
The tiger's helpless yowling was as loud as his.  
  
Through the tears of pain he looked around to see people in the crowd staring at him. He felt himself slowly giving into unconsciousness as the pain seized the rest of his body.  
  
"No!" he yelled aloud although he was talking to himself. "I can't allow this!"  
  
He tried to stand back up but he tripped over the unconscious feline below him. The pain must have gotten to the animal. Determined to conquer what he determined must be magic working against him, he struggled to walk away, pushing himself through concerned citizens and onlookers.  
  
Finally, what felt like a surge of powerful energy, passed through him shaking his very core. He fell to his hands and knees. As he started to black out, he heard a very distinct female voice in his head.  
  
Just then an arm shot underneath his abdomen and another around his back, giving him support. Although he felt the darkness submerging him, he turned his face to meet a pair of sparkling, yet concerned green eyes.  
  
The eyes, as it turns out, were attached to a very attractive face.  
  
Damas nodded and started to slip into his fatigue.  
  
"What's wrong?" the woman demanded sternly. "Tell me what's happened."  
  
Then he heard the first woman's voice in his head again. As the humming faded with his consciousness, he looked at his latest rescuer with teary, bloodshot blue eyes and frowned.  
  
"Birth…….birthright?" Damas stammered right before he passed out.  
  
The woman tightened her grip on the General as his body went limp in her arms. She felt around his jugular for a pulse. When she found one, she breathed a sigh of relief. She examined the man's physical appearance. He didn't seem to have any outward injuries. His chest rose and fell steadily with each breath he took.  
  
She stared a little too long at his face though, taking in his rugged yet handsome features. Without really thinking about it, she ran a finger along his jawbone.  
  
"Lt. Teela what should we do with him?" asked one of the guard standing behind her.  
  
Teela blushed as she realized others were probably watching her and she went back into business mode.  
  
"We take him to the infirmary, solider," she barked. "He's obviously injured, he needs medical attention."  
  
The guard just stared at her, which pushed a button in her that she didn't like to have pushed.  
  
"Now!" she ordered.  
  
The solider and three others lifted Damas up and started walking away. Teela turned to see the sleeping tiger on the ground. She shook her head.  
  
"Someone grab the cat too," she ordered, not really believing why she was. "Maybe the animal can provide us with some answers as well."  
  
Two other soldiers scowled and picked up the large animal. Teela heard one of them mutter something under his breath and she was sure it was about her. Despite her instincts, she ignored him and followed as her unit carried the unconscious man into the palace.  
  
Again, she let her eyes wander over his form and that's when she noticed the red bat-like symbol on his garment. She narrowed her eyes thinking she had seen that symbol before, but could not figure out where.  
  
Without thinking, and later she herself would wonder why she had done it, she reached over and pulled his cloak over the symbol.  
  
"Who are you?" she thought to herself.  
  
They group passed a dark corner of the market as they walked through the gates into the palace.  
  
A pair of flickering, mystical green eyes watched every move they made. 


	9. CHAPTER 9

Disclaimer in 1-don't sue  
  
***OMG, you guys I am so sorry about the typesetting issues in the last two chapters. Unfortunately I don't know how to fix them with out retyping everything and I don't have that kind of free time. So for now, I'm going to leave it, I hope everyone is able to read around it, but if you want a clean copy emailed to you or something, let me know. Anyways, thanks for the feedback, LadyNiko, I was hoping you hadn't given up on me yet. Here's the next installment:  
  
CHAPTER 9  
  
He was submerged in darkness.  
  
A wave of ghostly images darted back and forth in Damas' sub-conscious. People, places, voices. All were images unfamiliar to him and in the trance of dream-state, he did not try to understand them.  
  
Then there were things he recognized. Events of his past. Battles, destruction, screams. The memories of past crimes engulfed his mind in a torturous attempt of finding some salvation.  
  
If he understood why his conscious was working as so, he might have been confused. As it were, he was lucid to the memories. He floated through them as his body recovered from the sudden attack that literally seemed to come from within him.  
  
Not everything appeared to be memories. Some visions were beautiful and unfamiliar. Some were monstrous and horrifying. Yet Damas slept through it all, allowing his defined body the opportunity of meditation and recovery.  
  
And as he floated, as he gave himself over to the darkness and his subconscious, it happened.  
  
Somewhere, in the recesses of his mind, something... a single forgotten memory, pushed through the boundaries of his self-control. It was not a picture, not a place, but something else. Something beyond who and, more importantly, what, he was.  
  
Although he did not wake, his eyelids flinched and fluttered and his fingers twitched as his mind wrestled with what the memory was.  
  
At the foot of the bed, his rescuer stood watch. Her arms folded, she kept her close and skeptical, but concerned, green eyes on him. Something about this situation sat very wrong by her. The healers found no physical injuries, yet he seemed to suffer so greatly in the market.  
  
"No man bellows like that for no reason," she thought to herself. "Something caused him to act that way. It was like...magic."  
  
Teela cocked an eyebrow as she studied the patient. His clothes lay in a pile on a nearby chair and medicinal clothes draped across his broad chest. Dealing with magic was something she was used to, especially the dark magic that usually came from Snake Mountain.  
  
"Could he be an enemy of Skeletor's?" she considered. "It wouldn't be unlike Skeletor or Evil-Lyn to use magic against someone. And the way he seemed to be tortured definitely looked like their work."  
  
Sighing, she walked over to the chair and fingered his long black cloak. The fabric was dirty yet soft and durable. She wondered if it would be proper to have the servants wash the garments. Hours had passed already and the mysterious stranger would probably be asleep all night, and they would be dry by the morning.  
  
She picked up the cloak and draped it over her arm. She reached down and grabbed the shirt when her eye caught the red symbol adorning it again. She placed the cloak on the bed and inspected the patch gingerly, tracing the stitches with her fingers and studying each part of its detail.  
  
"Blast," she thought. "I have seen this symbol before..but where???"  
  
For several minutes she racked her brain for the memory but it was to no avail. She looked at the sleeping man again and walked closer to the side of the bed.  
  
"Oh for the Elders' sake why am I still here?" she thought half-heartedly.  
  
It wasn't as if she had nothing else to do. She had already missed training that afternoon and was due for rotation in an hour. On top of that, she wanted to speak with her father about his day-long absence. Not to mention the fact that she was supposed to be guarding Adora, who had once again disappeared.  
  
"If I get fired because of her.." she stopped herself from finishing that thought just as one of her unit soldiers entered the room. He nodded in salute and Teela returned the acknowledgement.  
  
"Lieutenant," the young soldier said. "Your father contacted central command several minutes ago. He informed us that he is returning to the palace and wishes to meet with you and Capt. Kelan immediately."  
  
Teela nodded and the soldier turned to walk out of the room. Before he did, he paused.  
  
"Oh, he also informed us that her highness, the Princess, was with him and that she was safe," he said in a patronizing tone before leaving the room.  
  
It was a jab at her and she knew it. Teela's face burned bright red as her frustration built up inside of her. She slammed both fists down onto the side of the bed, paying no heed to its occupant.  
  
"Those two better have a damn good explanation for this," she thought, her eye blazed with fury. "Or so help me elders I'll..."  
  
Her thought stopped as her breath caught in her throat. She looked down to the bed where she had slammed down and saw the man's hand was clutching her own.  
  
Struck by his physical state and the curiosity of the action, she looked at him, expecting to see the same intense blue eyes she saw in the market.  
  
But he still slept, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.  
  
Teela stood there for a second before trying to pry her hand from his. His skin was rough and calloused. He was not royalty of some sort, she determined. All royalty she knew didn't dare get their hands dirty.  
  
She held his empty hand for a moment longer and then put in back down on the bed. In her other hand, she clutched the shirt. For some reason, she had to know who this man was and what the familiar symbol stood for.  
  
And as angry as she was, she knew her father would be the person to ask. That is after she let him have it for taking off without telling her where he was going.  
  
With shirt in hand, she walked quietly out the door of the infirmary and headed for the landing pad.  
  
As the door to the stranger's room latched closed, a green mist floated in under the door towards the patient's bed.  
  
******  
  
"Duncan, I swear, if you don't tell me WHAT the blazes happened back there, I will go mad!" Adora prodded as Man-At-Arms circled the palace in the wind raider.  
  
He wanted to answer her, but he was still trying to figure out what had happened for himself. Regardless, his silence only irritated the princess more.  
  
"What was that sword? Why didn't we bring it with us? What was the Sorceress talking about?" She went on and on, and the more angry she got, the more her voice started to sound of She-Ra. "Who is this Horde the Sorceress spoke of and why do you seem so taken aback by them?"  
  
Man-At-Arms looked at her sternly. Her blue eyes flashed and she had her arms folded across her chest. He sighed and returned his attention to landing the wind raider.  
  
"All you need to know for now is that the Horde is a very powerful, very dangerous entity who nearly destroyed Eternia once," he muttered. "They've caused many people on this planet great pain and suffering."  
  
He frowned.  
  
"Including me, your parents, and you, even though you don't know it," he thought to himself. For all his hatred of Hordak and what he did, Man-At- Arms wanted nothing more than to make him redemptive.  
  
"We must be ready for an attack," he told the furious blonde. "If the Horde is legion, the war will cause great destruction and we can expect many casualties. But right now, we know there are only two here. And the most important thing we can do is find those two soldiers and capture them."  
  
Adora's face clouded from anger to concern. She bit her lower lip and watched as the raider started to descend. Near the landing pad she could see Teela, standing with her arms crossed, looking very unhappy.  
  
"We shouldn't waste any time then," Adora said to her teacher. "We'll need to prepare the Masters and have the Royal Guard on standby."  
  
Man-At-Arms shook his head and set the land gear down.  
  
"Not yet," he replied as he set the raider down on the ground. "Right now the only advantage we have is that they don't know that we know they are here. If word gets out that the Horde has returned, it will be anarchy."  
  
Adora nodded and jumped out of the raider and started to walk towards a red- faced Teela. Man-At-Arms followed resolutely and as he approached his daughter, he knew the tantrum would soon follow.  
  
But Teela, knowing that a few guards were watching her, surprised them both.  
  
"I expect your trip went well," she said calmly, albeit through clenched teeth.  
  
Adora opened her mouth to reply then closed it in an effort not to alienate her friend. Next to her Man-At-Arms shrugged.  
  
"I apologize Teela, but time was of the essence," he replied. "I will explain later, but right now we need to go..."  
  
But the Lieutenant wasn't done yet. She shoved the shirt she was carrying into her father's hands and cut him off at the pass.  
  
"While you were away...doing...whatever, we had a situation in the market," she retorted sarcastically. "A man fell..ill, I guess is the only way to say it and we brought him to the infirmary."  
  
Man-At-Arms looked at her with apathy and grabbed her arm, leading her away from the landing pad and towards his workshop. Adora followed about five feet behind.  
  
"Young lady, I assure you we have something much bigger to deal with at the moment than some fool from the market," he ranted quietly as he pushed the shirt back into her hands. "Believe me when I tell you that..."  
  
Suddenly, however, he stopped dead in his tracks and Teela glared at him.  
  
"What? What now? Are you going to yell at me a little louder so the rest of my unit can hear you?" She seethed, but her father took no notice.  
  
He did take notice of the shirt in her hands, though, and slowly reached out a hand and touched it.  
  
"Teela, where did you get this?" he questioned slowly and softly.  
  
She looked down at the shirt and up again at her father. She narrowed her eyes but inside she felt a big gloat session coming on.  
  
"The injured man you were so quick to dismiss," she said as Adora approached them. "It was the shirt he was wearing."  
  
She held the shirt out in front of her, exposing the full garment. Adora looked at it puzzledly.  
  
"The red symbol looks familiar to me, but I can't place it, father," she said. "I thought maybe you would be able to."  
  
Slowly, Man-At-Arms took the shirt from her hands, and his expression changed from shock to anger. He balled the shirt up in his hands, and clenched his jaw.  
  
Adora place a hand on her teacher's shoulder and took the shirt from him.  
  
"Duncan," she soothed. "You recognize it don't you? What does that symbol stand for?"  
  
Teela, feeling left out again, glared at them both.  
  
"Well, I could ask the man it came off of, but he's passed out in the infirmary and he's..."  
  
Man-At-Arms wheeled and grabbed his daughter by both shoulders and shook her.  
  
"Are you telling me the owner of this shirt is IN THE PALACE?!?!?" he roared.  
  
Teela jerked herself away from her father's sudden outburst and returned fire.  
  
"That is what I was trying to tell you but YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME!!!!!" she yelled.  
  
Adora stepped in between the two and put her arms up. She looked at Duncan with an 'I mean business' look.  
  
"I COMMAND BOTH OF YOU TO STOP NOW!" Adora yelled. She rarely used her royal status but now seemed appropriate. The she quieted. "Duncan, what does the symbol stand for?"  
  
Man-At-Arms calmed a little and took the shirt back with a quick, hard yank. He glared at both young women.  
  
"This is the mark of the Horde, Adora," he said flatly. "There is a member of the Horde in the palace as we speak."  
  
With that he took off running. Adora's expression of concern triggered something in Teela.  
  
"I'm guessing he's heading for the infirmary," Teela said as both girls took off after the warrior. "You can explain what the hell is going on when we get there." 


	10. CHAPTER 10

***Disclaimer in One: don't sue.  
  
This is a bit shorter but hopefully I have my writer's block kicked now and can keep this going more frequently. Enjoy.  
  
CHAPTER 10  
  
By the time Teela caught up to her father and her friend they were standing in the doorway to the stranger's infirmary room. Teela bent over, put her hands on her knees and took a big gulp of air. She was surprised at how winded she was from the run but she dismissed it. After all, it had been a long, strange day.  
  
She looked at the two in wonderment.  
  
"Well, is someone finally going to explain to me what is going on?" she breathed.  
  
Man-At-Arms didn't move, his eyes stared straight ahead. A shadow had befallen Adora's face.  
  
"She's worried about something," Teela thought. "But what she's worried about remains to be seen."  
  
Sickened by the silence and now more irritated than before, Teela stood up straight and pushed her way into the room between the two.  
  
"I told you he's out of commission, been sleeping like a....what the.."  
  
Teela's eyes widened in surprise. The infirmary room had been completely destroyed. The sheets the stranger had lay entangled in not long before were ripped and lay in shreds about the room along with broken glass and mattress stuffing.  
  
It looked like a war-zone. Worse yet, it felt like a war-zone.  
  
Teela swallowed hard. "Where IS he?" she thought frantically as she picked up some of the shredded debris. Her heart lurched as she searched the room, as if a man of the stranger's size could have hidden in there. Fortunately, Teela was relieved to find no traces of blood in the room.  
  
"He could still be alive," she muttered. "We can still find him."  
  
Man-At-Arms grunted as he approached his daughter and took the shreds from her trembling hands.  
  
"It might have been better for us if he were dead," he said solemnly.  
  
Teela looked at her father with an angered curiosity. Ever since she was young, she was always taught to respect life, ANY life and that it was not hers to take. And here was her father, her idol, role-model and teacher making a hypocrite of himself.  
  
She glared at him. "Please...please tell me what you mean by that?" she said slowly and sternly.  
  
Man-At-Arms looked at Adora for a moment and a silent communication passed between them. She nodded and left the infirmary. She would return later with the Captain of the Guard and some men to document the room and look for clues to the perpetrator of the mess.  
  
But right now, Duncan, the great teacher of each of the guardsmen needed to explain to his daughter that the harsh reality of her actions, albeit well- meaning, could be disastrous if they didn't find the stranger soon.  
  
*******  
  
"Explain to me how you...YOU OF ALL BLASTED CREATURES...lost track of him!!??!"  
  
Hordak furiously stormed about his chambers, ranting and raving as an indignant witch hung back in the dark.  
  
Shadow Weaver's work had not been as easy as she or Hordak for that matter, had predicted. Ever since she set foot in that world, her magic had been countered by a mystical presence. At first she thought it was merely the dimensional travel working against her so she set out early that morning before Damas had awoken to, in essence, exercise some of her power.  
  
Surprisingly, her magic was still quite strong; the little village had no idea what had hit them.  
  
However, she found she could no longer track Damas the way she could on Etheria. This was a problem and Hordak, more than anyone, knew that. But for the moment, Shadow Weaver chose to keep quiet.  
  
"Blast this!" Hordak continued to bellow. "I can't afford for this to go wrong. There is entirely too much at stake. Get him back here now! I shall lead the assault myself."  
  
Leading the assault was right up Shadow Weaver's alley, actually. In truth, she had been behind every one of Damas' victories including the last great assault on the Whispering Woods. She had discovered early on that Damas' had a weak side: he could not kill. He would fight with the grace and skill of the greatest warrior, but when the time came to finish the battle, he couldn't kill his opponent.  
  
Weaver remembered every time the look of despair would come over him as his opponent's life hang in the balance. She found in those events that she would help her adopted son to spare him from the wrath of Hordak. So, to keep Damas' reputation in the good graces of her master, she would assume the Damas' form and finish the job. Then she would alter his memory so that he believed he had committed the task. Hordak was never the wiser to it either, which made it convenient for her. He got his trophy, which is all he ever saw the boy as, and she got to raise the son that she could never conceive.  
  
She considered the day they stole him from the Eternian Royals her greatest victory ever. It was almost botched after they discovered that foolish solider had followed them. She remembered making herself invisible as Hordak, who was carrying the young prince, faced off with the Royal Man-At- Arms. As they fought, she cast a spell over the soldier that caused him to slip, allowing Hordak the upper hand and the win. As the soldier lay unconscious before them, she opened the portal and the three escaped into the vast universe.  
  
A thought nagged her mind: Hordak was right about getting Damas out of there.  
  
"If I can't track him, perhaps I can't control him either," she thought to herself. "If I can't control him, he could be suggestible to the power of Grayskull. I could lose him forever."  
  
As Hordak continued his tirade, Shadow Weaver bowed, opened the portal to Eternia, and left to find her prize. 


	11. CHAPTER 11

Don't own it, don't claim it, don't sue.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
The darkness slowly began to fade away as Damas slipped back to the conscious world. Taking deep breaths, his eyes fluttered slowly, fighting the cursed light as they readjusted themselves to better visibility.  
  
As he tried to sit up, his body countered and screamed in dull ache. He drew in a deep breath through his teeth and decided to wait a minute before trying that again. He looked around to find himself back at the campsite. He was lying on the ground and the golden hues from the setting sun were peaking through the surrounding trees.  
  
He laid his head back down and tried to gather the memories of what had transpired. The market. The palace. The plan.  
  
Then there was the pain. He had no idea what had caused it and even less of an idea of why it was caused.  
  
Then there were the emerald green eyes. The ones that looked at him with a mixture of fear and compassion. Not only had he never seen eyes like that before, he never saw any look at him with compassion before. He wasn't sure why, but his pulsed raced slightly at the memory of those eyes.  
  
He closed his eyes and searched his memory for a clue to what had happened but fatigue and hunger pushed through as higher priorities.  
  
He moved his feet as if trying to stand up and heard a loud yowl. Surprised, he looked down to find the cringer looking at him as if he had dared wake him from a dream of chasing birds.  
  
"Sorry," he grumbled, half annoyed but half relieved with the animal's presence. He got to his knees, and then slowly pushed himself up.  
  
The aches came back but for the most part but his body seemed grateful for the movement. He stood still for a moment with his eyes closed, as if in meditation, contemplating his next move.  
  
"I expected more for you," came a sultry voice from behind him.  
  
But before she could react, Evil-lyn was staring the tip end of Damas' sword.  
  
Surprised for a millisecond, she grinned and ran her finger alongside the edge of the blade pushing it slowly down to her breast.  
  
"I would tell you to be quick but I somehow think that you're a man who prefers to....savor...the moment," she said huskily.  
  
Damas however, was unimpressed but lowered the sword. Huffing, he walked into his tent, emerging minutes later pulling a fresh shirt over his streamlined, tan chest. He patted the tiger on the head and it stood up and stretched.  
  
"Why are you here witch?" he grunted. "I have work to do."  
  
Evil-lyn snickered and perched herself on a nearby rock, leaning back just enough to allow Damas to appreciate the view.  
  
"My dear General," she replied. "I think you would be a bit more grateful considering that I have rescued you from the hands of our enemies."  
  
Damas frowned and his steely blue eyes narrowed.  
  
"I could have HANDLED the situation," he retorted as he glared at her. "I needed no interference from that pathetic master of yours."  
  
The smile on Evil-lyn's face faltered as she grit her teeth. Straightening up, she returned his icy glare.  
  
"My master has nothing to do with this," she elaborated. "You were freed with my help. Otherwise, you would have been executed the minute you regained consciousness."  
  
Damas didn't speak, he just stared at her angrily.  
  
"You see, there are members of the Royal Guard, older members that remember what it meant to see a symbol of the Horde," she continued, very pleased with herself. "While many of the newer guardsmen have no idea, it was only a matter of time before you were discovered. And then you would be dead."  
  
She stood up and sauntered over to him. His eyes followed her movement with suspicion, but Evil-lyn merely ran her hand over his chest and nestled behind him.  
  
"So you see, you would have not only failed in your mission, but you would be dead," she whispered in his ear. "And you're really no good to Horde Prime...or me...if you're dead."  
  
As she licked the back his ear, he reached up and pulled her arm away from his chest. Fighting off her advance, he turned and clutched her wrist tightly.  
  
"Do not presume that I can be so easily distracted," he warned. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have much more IMPORTANT things to do."  
  
Her eyes flashed for a moment but the sadistic smile never left her lips. Instead she jerked her wrist away from Damas and took a step back. Chuckling, she cradled her magic wand in his fingers.  
  
"You gorgeous fool, do you honestly believe that you are going to just MARCH into Grayskull and take over?" she laughed haughtily. "Are you REALLY as great as those in Horde World proclaim? From what I've seen you're no more capable of taking Grayskull than a widget is. And to think, I was going to allow myself to be yours."  
  
She continued to laugh as Damas clutched his fists. After a few more seconds of her cackling, he grabbed her by the neck and dug his fingers into her flesh. Her expression changed rapidly and for a second, she was afraid.  
  
Damas wanted to crush her throat, but as he stood there, ready to tear her limb from limb, he faltered. Despite all of his anger, all of his disgust for this wretched wench, he could not bring himself to destroy her, even after she had made such remarks about him.  
  
Instead, he pushed her out of his way. She fell to the ground and landed on her hands and knees in the dirt. She coughed hard as she tried to take deep breaths of air.  
  
He stared at her for a moment and then turned to grab a bag from his tent. With fury, Evil-lyn pointed her wand at him and started to recite an incantation in her head.  
  
"Nobody...EVER.....treats me this way," she hissed.  
  
Damas faced her with determination in his eyes and as she fired a blast from her wand, he rolled quickly out of the way. His tent however, quickly went up in flames.  
  
Suspecting another strike, Damas got up quickly to react but instead there was nothing.  
  
Nothing but a low pitched sound. Just a few feet away, cringer was on all fours, his back arched and hair sticking up, growling at her. His face was only inches from the side of Evil-lyn's head. Saliva dripped from his bared teeth and a hissing sound coming from his nostrils seemed to say "Just try that again."  
  
Seeing that her head was about to be mauled, Evil-lyn lowered her wand and inched slowly away from the cat.  
  
"Grayskull will never be yours," she hissed. "I will make sure of it myself."  
  
With that, she disappeared in a flash of dark smoke and lightening.  
  
Damas took a deep breath and exhaled. Cringer walked over to him sat down at his feet. Amused by the cowardly cat's actions, he scratched the feline's ear.  
  
"Not too bad," he chuckled. "There may be hope for you yet."  
  
The he stopped. He had laughed. He NEVER laughed...at ANYTHING.  
  
He rubbed his head.  
  
"By the ancients what is happening to me?" he thought to himself.  
  
He reflected on what had happened moments before as he held the harpy in a death grip, only to have reservations about killing her. He never had reservations before. He had seen many battles and taken many lives and nothing had ever made him waiver.  
  
However, whenever he did take the life of his opponent, he always felt different. Not the rush of adrenaline that his father had always described to him, but more of a...dreamlike..state. As if he would leave his body and watch it from the outside.  
  
As he felt the pulse of Evil-lyn quicken in her jugular, he waited for that sensation to come over him. When it didn't, it caught him quite off guard.  
  
"Blast," he thought to himself after several minutes. "Hordak warned me about this place. I just need to focus."  
  
With the dusk overtaking the land and the sun setting, Damas grabbed his bag and snapped his fingers at cringer before setting off to the Royal Palace of Eternia, to finish what he had started that morning.  
  
**********  
  
The darkness washed over her as images danced in front of her eyes. Images of blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes and an amazing smile.  
  
Her ears filled with his laughs and cries. She could feel his soft skin, the grip of his hand on hers, she could smell his sweet smell.  
  
She could see herself holding him close to her, feeling his heart beat against her own.  
  
But then the darkness shifted and he began to fade, pulled back into the very darkness that encompassed her.  
  
And while she fought in the darkness to hold onto him, he slipped farther and farther away until he was gone.  
  
Gripped with fear and panic, her heart lunging into her throat, she fought against the darkness and screamed for him.  
  
"ADAM!"  
  
The name reverberated through the walls of the castle. The next thing she new, the door to her room was flown open and strong arms were enveloping her.  
  
She heard a voice try to comfort her but she cried loudly over the dream that had haunted her every night for years.  
  
And as tears streamed down her face, Queen Marlena of Eternia wondered why, this time, the dream felt so much more real. How was it that this time, she could actually feel her long-lost son. 


	12. CHAPTER 12

Disclaimer in one: No lawsuits por favor  
  
CHAPTER 12  
  
Man-At-Arms was never so on his guard as he was this night. While the streets of Eternos still bustled with merchants packing their wares away and people rushing to their cottages for the evening, he kept a steady eye on the empty palace courtyard.  
  
Empty except for the 30 members of the Royal Guard standing near the gate.  
  
He took a deep breath and sighed. There were 200 more guardsmen stationed around the other entrances and outside the palace walls. If the people of Eternos hadn't noticed the obvious change in security, they would soon.  
  
And then there could be panic. With panic came chaos, and chaos would make this city an open target for an attack.  
  
"If the Horde doesn't pick us off then, Skeletor will certainly try," he thought to himself.  
  
Nonetheless, the royal family had to be protected at all costs and Man-At- Arms knew all too well that if Hordak were to make a return appearance, he would most certainly head for Randor.  
  
Or elders forbid, Adora.  
  
He focused his gaze from the courtyard to the sky and watched as the stars began popping out one by one. He allowed his mind to wander and he found himself wondering about his discovery the previous night in his workshop.  
  
"There was another person there, a woman," he thought as the realization brought a mixture of emotions including anger and excitement. "She knows where Hordak took the boy, I'm sure of it. But WHO is she?"  
  
Man-At-Arms resolved to try the memory projector again that night and the next night and the night after that until he could reveal the identity of the mysterious third party that witnessed the prince's abduction.  
  
In the meantime, security was the issue and he would be damned if a member of the Horde would set foot inside the palace walls again.  
  
He heard the footsteps approach but instinct told him who his visitor was.  
  
"I hoped I'd never see this day arrive, my friend."  
  
King Randor folded his arms and leaned against the balcony wall. Once a strong warrior himself, he had faced up to his family calling and became more than a warrior king but the wisest diplomat in Eternian history.  
  
He had made many tough calls in the past but all of them were for the greater good of his people. Man-At-Arms admired him for that.  
  
"How is the Queen?" Man-At-Arms asked gently. He had heard of her nightmare from one of the guards who had heard her screaming. The poor lad had the queen's chamber door slammed in his face by the king when he responded to her cries. Man-At-Arms felt sorry for him on some level but knew he would have done the same thing in Randor's place.  
  
"She is better, for now, anyway. She's gone for a stroll in the garden to quiet her thoughts," the King sighed.  
  
Man-At-Arms looked at him quickly with great concern but Randor read his friend's thoughts and put his hands up.  
  
"With all this fuss about the Horde, its stirred up many bad memories for her," he explained. "She's worked so hard to try to get past our....loss....that she feels out of control now that everything is flooding back. I had to let her have some time to herself, to breathe and get a grasp on reality."  
  
He turned and put his elbows on the wall.  
  
"In all honesty, I know how she feels, Duncan," he said in slight despair. "A part of me died that day. I don't know if I could relive it again and keep my sanity."  
  
Man-At-Arms nodded and returned his attention to the courtyard. On some level, he knew how his friends felt and yet, on another, if it had been Teela, he wondered if he would ever be able to survive it. But now, another concern tugged at Duncan's heart.  
  
"Will you tell Adora?" he asked the king.  
  
Randor sighed again and rubbed his eyes. It was a question he had dreaded his entire life yet he always knew that his remaining child and heir had the right to know about her sibling. If the Horde was to assault Eternia again, her life would be in danger and she had to know why.  
  
"She deserves to know the truth about what's going on, Duncan," he responded. "In order to properly have a full grasp of the situation, she must understand the severity of it. But do not doubt that I have many reservations about telling her. Unfortunately, it must be done."  
  
With that Randor straightened up and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.  
  
"We try so hard to shield our children from heartache and despair only to hand it to them on a shiny silver platter in the form of the truth," he said. "I don't know how she will take it, but what she does with the knowledge will be up to her."  
  
He turned and started to walk away, but then paused.  
  
"Have you informed Teela?"  
  
Man-At-Arms dipped his head a little and nodded.  
  
"Yes," he whispered. "She has been sworn to secrecy though. She knows it is not her place to inform the princess on this matter. But as an officer of the guard, I felt she needed to have all of the information at her disposal."  
  
Surprisingly, Randor smiled at his friend's confession.  
  
"Your daughter is a very gifted young lady," he consoled. "I have faith in her abilities and I know she would never do anything to harm Adora. I trust her as much as I trust you old friend."  
  
With that, Randor returned to his throne room where he would order for his daughter to be brought to him.  
  
Man-At-Arms also turned to leave, but his patrol would take him down into the palace grounds where he would check to make sure the queen was in no danger.  
  
His mind consumed with the events of the day, he didn't even notice the shadow that lurked around the palace walls or that one of the guards had been suddenly pulled into the bushes.  
  
********  
  
Teela sat quietly in the security central command room deep inside the palace. She thought about everything that had transpired that day and it made her more tired than she already was.  
  
She did not envy Adora this night but her heart broke for her friend. She knew that with threat of the Horde, the King and Queen would have no choice but to tell her. If they didn't, she wondered if she herself could look them in the eye again.  
  
"Imagine keeping such a secret from your own child for all of their life," she thought disdainfully to herself. "How could they do such a thing?"  
  
She sighed and sat back in her chair. She knew Adora's world would soon be turned upside down by the revelation and part of her wanted to hate the King and Queen for the pain they were about to inflict upon her lifelong friend.  
  
But then common sense got the better of her and she scolded herself for passing judgment on the two people who had shown her as much affection and compassion as her own father had.  
  
"It's not your place to think such things Teela," she thought. "What would you have done had you been in Queen Marlena's place."  
  
Still, she knew Adora hated being kept in the dark and she wondered how the news would go over.  
  
She damned the Horde for doing this to her friends. If she had known earlier that day what she knew now, she would have left that Horde spy in the street.  
  
"Filthy, no-good bastard," she thought as her face flushed red. "If I ever get a chance at that horrid creature again, I'll make him wish he never set foot in Eternia."  
  
But something tugged at her chest, as if the thought of hating the stranger was wrong in some way. This bothered her more than anything.  
  
Her father's instructions pushed through the thoughts in her mind and she slowly snapped back to work mode. She watched the palace monitors diligently for signs of anything out of the ordinary.  
  
Her gaze fell upon the garden monitor as she watched the Queen sit on a bench. Her face was in her hands and her shoulders were shaking. Teela's heart broke for her and she fought the urge to go console her.  
  
She noticed quickly that the Queen was not alone as she watched her father approach. While she could not hear the word they were speaking, she could only guess the topic of their conversation.  
  
On another monitor, Teela watched her best friend enter the throne room and swallowed hard as the King excused the guardsmen stationed there. She didn't need audio to know what was about to happen.  
  
She watched King Randor walk toward his daughter and try to embrace her as he spoke. Adora's facial expressions changed from adoration, to confusion, to sadness and finally to anger, all in the span of mere minutes.  
  
"Poor Adora," Teela whispered as she wiped a tear away from her eye. "I hope she's strong enough to get through this."  
  
She continued to watch as Adora pushed her father away in one monitor and as Man-At-Arms embraced the Queen in another. And as Adora and Man-At-Arms left the monitors, Teela's heart sank further.  
  
"Their lives are being blown apart," she thought. "And there's nothing I can do to help them."  
  
And as it had happened many times before, Teela felt disconnected from her loved ones for once again, she was outside looking into their lives. 


	13. CHAPTER 13

Disclaimer in one.  
  
**SF: Hey, I got your note and wanted to elaborate a little. What you're thinking of are the "Twiggets," they were in the She-Ra series. The "Widgets" were small people in the He-Man series. Hope that clarifies a little (. Also, I'm not really confining myself to the old series or the new series. I am trying to utilize both and create a little from imagination just for the heck of it. Thanks for the review! Hope you like the next chapter.  
  
CHAPTER 13  
  
The heels of Adora's shoes clicked loudly as she waked at a brisk pace through the palace corridors.  
  
She had just received her father's urgent summons and was making her way to the throne room. If wasn't often that her father summoned her for an urgent matter, but none the less, she knew whatever he had to tell her was of great importance.  
  
She nodded her head as she approached the numerous guards standing in parallel lines in front of the throne room. They all bowed and two opened the enormous doors for her.  
  
Graciously, she thanked them and entered the spacious ornate room. Large portraits of past kings and queens hung majestically on the golden and red walls.  
  
Adora always admired the great knowledge the rulers of the past had and she hoped that someday, she would be as wise as they were in their rules of the land.  
  
Then there was that part of her that felt stifled at the idea of sitting on a throne day after day with no action to keep her distracted from dull politics. Not too mention that fact that she would not be allowed to rule alone.  
  
She winced slightly every time her father brought up the subject of arranged marriages. It was not only tradition, in his eyes, but a royal protocol that he expected Adora to follow.  
  
Quite frankly, she found it unfair. While her mother always emphasized love, her father demanded a choice that would be beneficial to the kingdom. At first, he was unrelenting about the subject, bringing suitors once and maybe twice a month. They would stay for a week or so, long enough for Adora to know without a doubt that she had no interest in them whatsoever, and they would leave at the queen's dismissal.  
  
Adora knew very well that if it wasn't for her mother's insistence that Adora be allowed to have some say in her future husband, her father would have had her married off years ago.  
  
She chuckled inwardly at the thought of explaining her constant disappearances and sleeping with the Sword of Protection under her pillow to a husband.  
  
The thought was funny and alarming at the same time. She didn't want to be coddled, watched or have to explain every minute of her day to someone else. Furthermore, she wasn't ready to give up her secret responsibility, although sometimes she wondered if there wasn't more to life out there.  
  
As she got closer to the throne, she caught the eye of Kalen, the Captain of the Royal Guards. He bowed, as did everyone else in the room, but did not smile. In fact, he hadn't smiled at her since she had broken off their secret romance late last year.  
  
She wanted him to smile at her, but she quickly looked away. She hated not seeing the same affection in his beautiful brown eyes that he used to have for her. They had been so close for so long, having grown up together as well as the fact that he had been her bodyguard, a position he relinquished to Teela out of a broken heart.  
  
She still cared very much for him, and she was sure her father would have approved, but she had a duty to fulfill. Until the land was rid of the evil that had befallen it, she would always choose her duty.  
  
Still, the time she spent wrapped in his strong arms lingered in her mind.  
  
When she almost tripped on the stairs leading to her father's throne, she snapped back to reality. King Randor looked bemused but concerned at the same time. Adora smiled lovingly at him and he stepped down and approached her.  
  
"Why does he look so sad?" she wondered as she bowed in front of him. Etiquette was etiquette after all.  
  
She knew he was worried and by the extra security around the palace, she suspected she knew why. But if it came down to it, she was fully prepared to go into battle to protect her home against an unfamiliar enemy.  
  
That didn't mean the look on her father's face didn't concern her though.  
  
"You sent for me father?" she asked sweetly, hoping she could do something to change the expression on his face.  
  
Randor merely nodded and hugged her tightly. She squeaked as he released her and let out a little chuckle.  
  
"You always hug me like you'll never get to do it again," she laughed.  
  
Randor only smiled slightly and turned away from his daughter.  
  
"Well, if I do, I suppose it is because I want to protect you from the tragedies of life," he said sadly.  
  
Adora frowned as she wondered what he meant by that. But the king continued.  
  
"But even as king, I cannot protect you from every sadness, every horror that life will throw at you," he said. "Elders known I have tried for many years. But I feel I have failed you, princess."  
  
If Adora wasn't worried about her father before, she was now. Confusion swept over her and she cleared her throat.  
  
"Failed me?" she asked. "I don't understand what you mean, father."  
  
Randor's blue eyes lowered and suddenly it appeared to Adora that the floor was more interesting than her. After a long pause, Adora placed her hand on his arm.  
  
"Please tell me," she begged. "Does it have to do with the Horde?"  
  
The king looked up at her quickly and sighed heavily. Adora persisted.  
  
"Please do not try to shelter me father," she implored. "Duncan told me of the atrocities of the Horde. I am confident we will be ready for them if they try anything."  
  
Randor took his daughter's hands and stared at her. Adora was shocked to see tears forming in his eyes. She opened her mouth to reassure him again, but he shook his head and cut her off.  
  
"Adora, all I've ever wanted to do is shelter you," he said slowly. "When you were an infant, I made you that promise that nothing would ever harm you while there was breath in my body."  
  
Adora's eyes started to fill up with tears too as her father continued.  
  
"And in my effort to protect you from harm, I feel I may have created the thing that would harm you the most," he faltered a little and then regained his composure. "When you were born, the greatest gift was bestowed on me by the gods themselves. But my fortune was short lived. The Horde stole a part of me that has left a hole in our family for too long. I see now that my prolonged silence has kept the hole open and bleeding over all these years."  
  
Adora stepped back a bit, frightened by the confusion she felt over her father's admission. Despite his weary state of mind, Adora felt there was something she didn't know, something she needed to know, and if it was something her father had trouble coming to terms with, it had to be something very important.  
  
"Father," she said. "What hole? What did the Horde steal? What are you talking about?"  
  
Randor took a deep breath and looked directly into his daughter's eyes, identical to his own.  
  
"I'm talking about Adam," he said with as much strength as I could muster. "Your brother." 


	14. CHAPTER 14

**I disappeared again and for that, I apologize. Here's a new update as an offering to those still reading this. ;) (Lady Niko can you ever forgive?) Enjoy.  
  
Oh and disclaimer in one. It would ruin my holidays to get sued over this so I claim no rights or ownership to any of the characters, storyline, MOTU or POP anything in this story. Happy Holidays!!  
  
CHAPTER 14  
  
Adora slammed the door to her room behind her with as much force that even Orko, whose quarters were on the other side of the palace compound, felt the shaking of the walls.  
  
Her eyes were red. But not from tears. Those she had shed quickly as the enormity of her father's confession slammed into her chest like a load of bricks. She grappled with it at first, assumed it was a joke. But the look in the king's eyes told her that he was more than serious about this subject.  
  
Her disbelief to this revelation was the only thing that kept her knees from buckling underneath her.  
  
"I have a brother," she whispered, her cheeks burning with sadness.  
  
Randor merely nodded.  
  
"He was taken from us all, Adora," Randor had tried to sooth her. "We...I believe it was in retaliation. Hordak was defeated, but not truly. And before we could finally destroy him, he destroyed us."  
  
Randor's image had been blurred by the tears streaming down her face, but she knew her father was crying as well.  
  
"Where..." She had faltered between words as she felt the hot liquid rise in the back of her throat. She fought hard to keep it down, but she could not finish her sentence. As if he knew what his daughter was asking, Randor answered her unspoken question.  
  
"We searched for years," he sighed. "There was nothing. Not a trace anywhere to be found. After so long, with not so much as a clue, we gave up the search and accepted what we dreaded to be reality."  
  
Adora wiped her eyes her the back of her hand. The pit that was in her throat was now in her stomach. The gravity of his words bore down on her and she fought to breathe.  
  
She felt betrayal, anger, sadness, emptiness and vengeance building up inside her. She fought to keep control.  
  
The King tried to embrace her but she pulled sharply away.  
  
"What is this reality you speak of?" She said flatly, sniffling.  
  
Randor seemed wounded by her sudden shun of him, but continued. He explained to her the way Hordak had gotten into the palace, how Skeletor had assisted him and how Man-At-Arms had trailed him.  
  
"All this time, Duncan kept this from me," she thought bitterly as she felt nauseous again. "My teacher, my confidante, the person who knows my most important secret kept the knowledge of my brother from me."  
  
She promised herself she would make him regret that decision later.  
  
"We feared the worst but never accepted it," Randor went on. "But over time, we dealt with what we knew in our hearts to be the truth."  
  
The truth. Adora cringed when he said that word. Her eyes darkened and she gripped her fists tightly. Suddenly, all of her anger, vengeance, and frustration came bursting out of her like a cannon flare.  
  
"What do you know of the truth?!" she bellowed so loudly that the guards on the other side of the door burst in expecting to see a battle of epic proportions going on in the throne room.  
  
Dumbfounded they stood there with their weapons drawn seeing only the princess and the king. However, the princess didn't stick around to offer any explanation. She curtly turned on her heel and stormed out of the throne room.  
  
After seeing the look on her face, none of the guards dared try to stop her. From the other side of the throne room, Kalen frowned and slowly exited out the side door.  
  
And now she was in the safety of her own room. She stood in the middle of it, quite still. The burning anger still on fire inside of her. Her nostrils flared. Her fists remained clenched in rage.  
  
"Adam," she closed her eyes as she remembered the name as it escaped her father's lips. "Your brother."  
  
She opened her eyes.  
  
"Brother."  
  
She reached behind her back.  
  
"Brother."  
  
She drew the Sword of Protection.  
  
"Brother."  
  
She tightened her grip on the handle.  
  
"Taken."  
  
With the strength of She-Ra herself, Adora unleashed all the anger that had built up inside of her as the cool, blue blade of her sword took apart every piece of her room in a matter of minutes.  
  
*******  
  
Inside the cold walls of Grayskull, the Sorceress awoke with a start. Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath.  
  
Wide-eyes, she looked around her chambers, and the events of the day came flooding back to her.  
  
"Blast!" she thought as she quickly stood up and walked over to an alter shaped stone in the room. "There is no time to lie about Teelana."  
  
She looked down at the table and picked up the blue steel sword carefully. Although the light show she had witnessed earlier appeared to be over, she could feel the metal humming. As if it were singing.  
  
"It's coming to life," a smile crept across her face. "I can feel the moons changing. Something extraordinary is about to happen."  
  
She took a deep breath. She knew it would be soon.  
  
But as she exhaled, another feeling washed over her. One of overwhelming despair.  
  
She closed her eyes and concentrated on the source, but it did not take long for her to hone in on the source of her concern.  
  
She felt Adora's heart breaking.  
  
The Sorceress lurched inside.  
  
"She knows," she thought to herself with a sigh. "The poor child is devastated."  
  
The Sorceress walked to the window and gazed out onto the dark horizon. She knew what she had to do and knew it was a long time coming. She closed her eyes and focused on...  
  
******  
  
"Adora."  
  
The woman's voice wasn't enough to stop the princess from her tirade.  
  
Adora continued to swing, slicing curtains, mattresses, and clothing, everything in her way. Feathers floated in the air as she attacked her bed and room furniture.  
  
Pain in her arms and shoulders from muscle tears screamed out, begging her to stop but still she continued to unleash her fury in the only way she could. And no one, not even the Sorceress herself, was going to stop her.  
  
"Leave me alone!!" Adora screamed into the air, talking to nobody physical. "They lied to me!! They kept my brother from me!!"  
  
Finally, when her body could take no more, Adora crumpled to the floor. The sword still in her hands. The Sorceress did not try to contact her again for several minutes. Or maybe Adora blocked her out through her sobs.  
  
After a long silence jutted by a few sad moans. Adora considered everything that had been said to her and slowly opened her mind up to the Sorceress again. This time, she sent the message.  
  
"You knew all along, didn't you?"  
  
With that, Adora stood and walked out of her room.  
  
"To hell with telepathy," she thought. This was one conversation that was going to be done face-to-face. 


	15. CHAPTER 15

*** Disclaimer in Chapter one and a few subsequent chaps after that.  
  
CHAPTER 15  
  
One of the consoles near Teela beeped loudly waking her from her intense concentration on the throne room monitor. She jumped slightly and cursed under her breath, not so much at the sound but at herself for being so easily taken off guard.  
  
She turned to the console and fixated on the monitor. She chewed on her lower lip as she adjusted the picture on the screen.  
  
The flutter caught her eye. She squinted and leaned in close. Something was there. Something or someone.  
  
The shadow was indistinct but it was there. And whatever the shadow's maker was, did not want to be seen.  
  
Teela's eyes narrowed and her jaw locked. She punched a few more buttons on the console and zoomed in to get a better look at the figure.  
  
The figure, the form of a man, walked stealthily along the palace halls, ducking into corridors as figures walked by. He crouched low to remain out of sight.  
  
But he was in Teela's sights and she felt the rage of transgressions past build up inside her.  
  
She clicked on her communicator and punched a number.  
  
"Captain? Do you read?"  
  
A few seconds passed and the deep voice echoed from the tiny speaker.  
  
"Report Lieutenant."  
  
Teela took a deep breath. She knew Calen was more than capable of handling security matters but Teela had a score to settle. This intruder was hers.  
  
"Sir, I think I may have discovered something inside the palace. Permission to leave my post?"  
  
There was no response for a few seconds and then the communicator audio reverberated again.  
  
"Is there any reason to believe the royal family may be in danger?"  
  
The side of Teela's mouth twitched. She knew by that he meant "Is Adora in danger?" She knew about their secret affair, even though Adora hadn't herself told her. She discovered them in a stream deep in the woods while training one early morning. She had never said anything about it, figuring she would keep her best friend's secret. Trust, after all, was an important issue to Teela.  
  
"There may be sir. The situation bears further assessment."  
  
She paused waiting for her commander's response.  
  
"Very well Teela, report in with your findings. However, I am going to initiate a lock down of the throne room and the royal quarters. Whatever it is, I want it taken alive, Lieutenant. It may provide us some insight into today's events."  
  
Teela unholstered her sidearm laser.  
  
"Yes, sir. Teela out."  
  
She would leave him alive, but she was going to make him wish he were dead.  
  
"Okay stranger," she whispered to herself. "Let's play hide and seek."  
  
*****  
  
The cloaked figure had no idea the very person who had saved him earlier that day was getting ready to pounce on him.  
  
Damas hid in a dark corner. He knew something had alerted the guards because several of them went running down the hall to a room with large, ornate doors.  
  
He smiled to himself. If they knew the king was in danger, it only stood to reason they would surround him in order to keep him safe.  
  
At least three rows of men guarded those doors, so Damas wasn't exactly going to be able to just walk right in. Not that he had assumed he would be able to do that anyway. His quest just became more challenging, but he thrived on it. He knelt low and ducked out of the corner onto a nearby window ledge.  
  
Just as he thought, several windows continued down the wall. That meant there were windows in the throne room.  
  
"This is almost too easy," he thought too himself.  
  
******  
  
Marlena paced by the windows. She hated being cooped up like this. There were easily a hundred guardsmen in here and they were all watching her every move.  
  
She sighed. It was their jobs to protect her and her family. But how could they protect them if they can't find all of them.  
  
She stared out the window and fought the voice of terror in the back of her mind.  
  
"Oh my daughter, I know you can take care of yourself but WHERE are you?" she thought. The idea of losing yet another child terrified her.  
  
As if to read her mind, Randor approached her from behind and wrapped his muscular arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Man-At-Arms is looking for her," he said softly. "He said he had a pretty good idea where she had gone. He swore to me she would be safe."  
  
Marlena nodded brushing a tear away from her face. He hugged her husband tightly.  
  
They were so caught up in each other's comfort; they didn't even realize what was lurking no more than 10 feet away on the window ledge.  
  
The explosions however, quickly caught their attention as the whole palace rocked. Outside in the gardens and courtyards below, a series of explosives went off in timed order, nearly decimating the outer palace grounds.  
  
A small contingency of guards and Calen remained in the throne room and the rest went running outside. Presumably to battle, but they would find only damage.  
  
The queen lay on the floor unconscious. Randor brushed the hair out of her eyes and held her hand as Calen evaluated her.  
  
"She's got a concussion, but there doesn't appear to be anything broken," he said quickly. "We need to get you to another shelter sire, before anything else..."  
  
His words were cut off as a cloud of smoke filled the air and blocked Randor's vision of what was going on. He watched as the remaining guardsmen rallied to windows.  
  
Calen grabbed his arm and began pulling him back.  
  
"Get out of here your highness," he yelled as he stationed himself in front of the king and queen. "NOW!"  
  
The dust quickly parted and a figure made his way around the unconscious bodies of guardsmen on the ground around him. His hood hung low over his eyes.  
  
Calen tightened the grip he had on his sword handle as the stranger approached him.  
  
"Halt!" Calen barked. His eyes glared with ferocity. "You are under arrest!"  
  
The stranger smiled and stopped. He slowly drew his sword from his side.  
  
The ensuing battle seemed to last a lifetime but was merely a few moments. The two men swung their swords with precision, as if choreographed. The loud clangs of steel hitting steel reverberated off the throne room walls.  
  
During the scuffle, Randor managed to pick up Marlena. His eyes, however, were fixated on the swordfight going on in front of him. Without realizing it, he slowly walked backwards towards the thrones.  
  
Calen swung. Damas countered. The two men locked swords and stood inches from each other's faces.  
  
"What purpose do you serve?" Calen grunted as he struggled to keep his footing.  
  
Damas smiled and moved his wrist an inch to the left. He knew he was setting up for the kill.  
  
"I'm going to kill your king," he hissed. "It's really a very simple purpose."  
  
With a sharp movement, Damas freed himself from the lock and managed to sweep Calen's legs out from under him.  
  
The captain fell to the ground with a hard thud, his sword scattering across the floor.  
  
Randor's eyes widened as he held Marlena closer to him. He knew he should flee with her, but his legs seemed frozen against his will.  
  
Damas held his sword against Calen's throat and chuckled.  
  
"It's a pity a great swordsman such as you has to die for a childkiller," he growled. "Randor is not worth your blood friend, but as it appears, I have no choice."  
  
Calen leered at him in defiance. "I'm not your friend, you Horde fiend."  
  
Damas lifted the sword as if to make a thrashing strike. Calen closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.  
  
"I'm sorry Adora," he whispered and he felt the wind slice through the air. Seconds passed and when the beating of his heart stopped echoing in his eardrums, Calen heard the sound of steel hitting the floor.  
  
He opened his eyes to discover there was no blood. He was very much still alive. The stranger had his hands in the air. His face, still mostly covered by his hood, was red in anger. Yet he didn't move and didn't speak.  
  
Calen reached over and picked up the stranger's sword. As he stood up, he saw Teela with the barrel of her sidearm pressed firmly into the back of the stranger's head. A sly smile spread across her face as other guardsmen came running back in.  
  
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now, you scum." She seethed.  
  
Calen cocked an eyebrow at his Lieutenant's behavior. Normally Teela was very calm in battle. She wasn't one to let her emotions get the best of her.  
  
The stranger still didn't move.  
  
"Do as you like, m'lady." He growled back.  
  
But Calen wasn't going to let his second in command kill the only person that could give them information. So he drew his own sidearm and held it on the stranger.  
  
"At ease, Lieutenant," he said sternly. "Take possession of our friend here and escort him to the dungeons. I want him in good health when I question him later. Teela, is that clear?"  
  
Teela nodded and holstered her sidearm. More than anything she wanted to make him pay but her duty WAS her duty.  
  
Across the room Marlena started to stir in Randor's arms. The king loving sat his wife up in her throne and cupped her face in his hands. Marlena opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Over her husband's shoulder she watched as several guardsmen surrounded a hooded man.  
  
"What happened, Randor?" she whispered, never removing her eyes from the scene in front of her.  
  
Randor however was oblivious to the situation. It was quite obvious his concern was for his wife.  
  
"I'll explain later darling," he soothed. "You need rest."  
  
Marlena nodded and stood.  
  
Across the room, the stranger was being taken into custody.  
  
Damas knew he couldn't defeat so many at once unarmed, but he was not done yet. He would go with them, but they wouldn't hold him for long. He scowled as he started planning in his head.  
  
"We're not finished Randor!" his yell echoed in the vast room. "You filthy coward!"  
  
The king didn't acknowledge the outburst but the queen did. She turned and stared at the man.  
  
Blood boiled in Teela. She spun in front of the stranger and slapped him. Calen opened his mouth to protest and then closed it again, fearing possible retribution himself.  
  
Dama's head jilted to the left and he felt the heat from the contact in his jaw. As he started to turn his head again, his hood fell back.  
  
His cold blue eyes locked with Teela's flashing green eyes and the two stared at each other as if each were preparing to completely unleash on the other.  
  
So caught up in their own anger, the two barely seemed to notice the loud gasp from the Queen, who now lay fainted on the ground. 


	16. CHAPTER 16

***Saw that I had a few questions about the storyline. I'll try to answer as best I can. I'm not really confining myself to the new or old series. I'd like to think I am incorporating plots and character developments from both. Does that make sense? Anyway, if there are any more questions, feel free to post them in the reviews and I will do what I can to answer them.  
  
Disclaimer in Chapter One.  
  
CHAPTER 16  
  
The cold, stone walls of Grayskull seemed to be alive again. The Sorceress could feel the energy in the air. But as much as she wanted to revel in what she knew was destiny, finally coming to pass, she knew the path that lay ahead would be a rocky one.  
  
She knew the prince would soon return, but for all of her power, knowledge and capabilities, she did not know when and how. She was frustrated that she could feel it but she could learn no more from her abilities, from the vast powers of Grayskull, than that.  
  
But then, she didn't possess the power of the elders, either.  
  
It was a question she had battled in her mind for what seemed to be an eternity. But finally, after so long, the answer seemed to dawn on her, like a dark cloud fading from the sky.  
  
Her power was limited, but perhaps now that Adora knew of the missing piece in her life, she could utilize the magic of a sibling bond and the power of the elders to find him.  
  
She sighed. She knew that would be easier said than done. Adora was heartbroken; the Sorceress felt her confusion and anger. Her feelings were understandable, but she would have to find a way to work through them quickly in order to bring the prince home.  
  
The Sorceress picked up the second sword once again and closed her eyes.  
  
"It is time," she whispered to herself.  
  
The silence of the castle was quickly broken as the sound of the jaw bridge rattled through the corridors. Minutes later, the princess stormed into the dark throne room. Her eyes were bloodshot, her nose and cheeks burned crimson.  
  
The Sorceress looked upon her with maternal love and descended the stairs so to be face to face with the young woman.  
  
Adora stared at her coldly but did not say a word. The Sorceress approached her with her arms open, ready to take her into an embrace. Adora, however, did not feel that she needed a hug.  
  
"You bitch!" she cried as her hand flew across the Sorceress's face, taking her completely off guard and knocking her to the floor.  
  
Adora instantly regretted her action but didn't show it. Her chest heaved as her body was once again racked with sobs. Despite her unstoppable tears, she stayed her ground, hands clenched at her sides.  
  
"You knew! All along and you never told me!"  
  
Despite the blow she had just been dealt, the Sorceress looked at Adora with compassion. She stood and once again tried to embrace her but Adora pulled back sharply.  
  
"Don't touch me!" she roared as she tried to compose herself. After several minutes of silence between the two women, she finally spoke again.  
  
"How could you have kept this from me?" she whimpered. "Am I nothing more than a pawn to you?"  
  
That was a knife to the Sorceress's heart. While she was not Adora's mother, she very much considered her like a daughter to her. She was as proud of her accomplishments as she was Teela's. She knew the only way for Adora to understand was to see.  
  
Without a word, she handed Adora the second sword. Adora stared at it for a moment and then, as if clarity finally got the better of her, she looked at the Sorceress.  
  
"I was not meant to be the only champion of Grayskull, was I?" she asked, taking the sword slowly from the Sorceress, who nodded silently.  
  
"We searched the universe for many years trying to find him, Adora," she turned her back to the princess. "Your parents, Man-At-Arms and myself did everything we could. But for all of our efforts, we found nothing but more heartache. And as you grew older, both Man-At-Arms and I both knew our focus had to be to prepare you for the enormity of your responsibilities."  
  
She turned to the young woman again, but this time, it was the Sorceress who had tears in her eyes.  
  
"You were not meant to fight this battle alone, Adora. In fact, I had believed..I still believe, that Adam is the key to ending the ongoing battle that is slowly destroying our planet."  
  
Adora was speechless. She stared at the sword again and gripped the handle tightly.  
  
"Adam can bring peace to Eternia?" she whispered. Her facial expression changed from sadness to anger once more and she glared at the Sorceress.  
  
"If you believed Adam was the one, the ONLY ONE, who could destroy Skeletor, that means all of my work, everything I have sacrificed, has been in vain," she said coldly. "I WAS nothing more than a pawn!"  
  
The Sorceress smiled at Adora and touched her face. This time, however, Adora did not move away.  
  
"No, my child," she said. "You have been Eternia's hope. It's only chance against the forces of evil. And you have done magnificently, as I always believed you would."  
  
Adora softened a bit and averted her eyes away.  
  
"I know what the burden of your responsibility has cost you," the Sorceress continued. "I feel your anguish too, more than you'll ever know."  
  
Her hand dropped from Adora's face to the sword. The Sorceress covered Adora's hand with hers around the handle.  
  
"A new chapter is about to begin Adora," she reassured as she began to left the sword and Adora's arm into the air. "Together, we will find the prince and bestow upon him his birthright."  
  
Adora stared at the sword she was now holding high in the air.  
  
"How?" she breathed.  
  
The Sorceress smiled.  
  
"By the power of Grayskull, Adora. We will bring Adam home."  
  
The two women were engulfed in light and mystic energy filled the room. Adora closed her eyes and gave herself over to the mystic connection being formed between her and the Sorceress.  
  
Wondrous images appeared in her head. Images of being a fetus in the womb. Images of infancy. Images of Eternia in chaos. Images of the Horde. Images of a strange, beautiful place with flowing, lush trees and magical creatures. Images of darkness and despair. Images of death. Images of rebirth. Images of family. Images of love.  
  
And the last image she saw before the power faded was that of a young blonde man, handsome and strong, with eyes identical to hers, standing in front of Grayskull, engulfed in light as he held the sword-his sword-aloft.  
  
The energy came to a deafening halt and the two women fell to the ground. The sword also fell to the ground and clanged loudly on the floor. The Sorceress, wide-eyed, looked at it as Adora reached over and took her hand again. The two women stared at each other before Adora finally broke the silence.  
  
"I've found him," she said, laughing through the tears streaming down her face. "He's here, Sorceress. At this very moment, my brother is on Eternia." 


	17. CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 17  
  
***Disclaimer in one  
  
CHAPTER 17  
  
"Well, this is going just spectacularly."  
  
Damas grimaced as he sat in his cell. The guards had chained him up tightly and his ability to move was very limited.  
  
As great of a warrior as he thought he was, even he couldn't get out of several feet of reinforced steel chains. Not to mention the fact that the cell was guarded by 30 men and the door was equipped with a laser cannon in case someone tried to open it without using the proper code.  
  
Yes, Damas was in a fine mess.  
  
"My father is going to kill me," he sighed.  
  
He believed it too. He knew Hordak had very low tolerance for those who could not properly perform their duties. He had been distracted by vengeance and broken one of the most important rules of Horde combat: He let himself be controlled by his emotions.  
  
What really bothered him was what happened upstairs earlier with the guard Captain. Damas frowned. He could have killed him. Worse yet, he had been trained all his life TO kill but he didn't. And it wasn't because that blasted woman stopped him.  
  
No it was something else.  
  
A feeling, like hot lead in his stomach. A burning in his chest. As he held his sword to the other man's throat, he felt strange. Oddly enough, he had felt a similar sensation in the woods when he held that wench witch by the throat.  
  
Before, he dismissed it as apathy. Now, he was concerned. There was something about this place that was doing strange things to him. First the nausea he experienced when he arrived. Then the sudden attack in the marketplace, now this.  
  
He shifted on his cot and the chains rustled around him. Hours had passed. It was probably morning by now. Tomorrow, his father's troops would descend upon Eternia and lay siege to Castle Grayskull.  
  
And he was stuck in a dungeon.  
  
"Blast this place," he thought. "What is happening to me?"  
  
He shut his eyes and tried to meditate on the question. It wasn't long before he was disturbed by the sound of the cell door opening and footsteps entering the small, dank room.  
  
Damas squinted at the light that shone in. After his eyes readjusted, he recognized his visitor.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked scathingly.  
  
Teela nodded to the other guards to leave and shut the door. They obeyed and she turned her attention to the prisoner in front of her.  
  
"I should have killed you upstairs," she hissed.  
  
Damas chuckled and sat up.  
  
"Yes, you should have," he goaded. "You have no idea how humiliating it is to have been captured by a woman."  
  
Teela stared coldly at him and then took a seat on a hay bail on the other side of the cell. She pulled her sidearm again and leveled it at him.  
  
"You tried to murder the king. You are Horde. I would be in my right to kill you." She said flatly.  
  
Damas stood up and walked as close to her as his chains would allow. He glared icily at her and opened his shirt, exposing his muscular, bare chest.  
  
"Then take your shot, madam."  
  
Teela stood and approached him. There was still a little distance between the two of them but their eyes were locked.  
  
She re-holstered her sidearm and folded her arms across her chest. Damas smirked at the movement and returned to his cot.  
  
"I'd take great pleasure in killing you," she replied. "But for some reason, the queen has sought fit to spare you."  
  
Teela had lied about the first part. As it turned out, she had no desire to kill anyone, including this stranger. What was worse: ESPECIALLY this stranger.  
  
She had no idea what it was about him. She was not a superficial person; it was more than his ruggedly handsome appearance. Although seeing his exposed chest just hen sent a wave of tiny tingles up her spine.  
  
There was something else. Something deeper she couldn't quite put a finger on.  
  
For reasons she couldn't fathom, it almost felt like she was connected to him somehow. It bothered her beyond words that she could not figure it out.  
  
And that feeling was showing up in her actions. Part of her wanted to hurt this man for nothing more than his affiliation with the Horde. To make him pay for whatever atrocities he had inflicted on others.  
  
But then there was that other part of her. The part that had grown warm when she had smacked him. Not from the gesture, but merely from the touch of his skin. The same way she had felt in the infirmary when he grabbed her hand. The part of her that wanted him to..  
  
"Why in the blazes would YOUR queen wish to see me?" Damas asked perplexedly, snapping Teela back to reality. "Has she reserved the right to kill me herself?"  
  
Teela motioned for the guards to return. As they entered the room, they grabbed the chains that held Damas and yanked him out of the cell.  
  
"I have no idea what she wants of you stranger," she slighted. "Perhaps, she merely wishes to know the name of her husband's would-be assassin."  
  
A voice in the back of Teela's mind told her that was more HER wish than the queen's.  
  
*******  
  
"So the great general has been captured by Randor's men?"  
  
Skeletor watched the previous events unfold from the Doomseeker. He sat back in his throne and chuckled. Next to him, Evil-Lyn smiled smugly.  
  
"Well, I would think that would hamper his ability to lead the assault on Grayskull."  
  
The evil overlord knew this was his chance. With Damas out of the way, he could lead the attack. With the Horde's manpower along with his own minions at his disposal, there would be nothing to stop him from walking into that cursed castle and finding the hidden power of the elders.  
  
"We must free him from his captors, Skeletor."  
  
The witch's voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. Skeletor turned his head to find Shadow Weaver in front of him. His empty eye sockets glared red.  
  
"Why!?" he bellowed. "Why should I help free that fool? The great GENERAL got himself into that mess. Let him find a way out of it."  
  
Shadow Weaver waved her hand in the air and an image appeared. An image from the past of her, Hordak and Man-At-Arms. Hordak was carrying an infant. Only rather than the disfigured witch she was now, Weaver was a young, raven-haired woman.  
  
"Do you recognize the past?" she hissed.  
  
Skeletor looked at the image. He looked at Weaver.  
  
"Well, well, well," he chuckled. "Lightspinner. You look horrid."  
  
Weaver's eyes blazed.  
  
"Not me you dolt, the CHILD!" she screeched.  
  
Skeletor looked again. After a few minutes the cloud that had fallen over his mind lifted and he started laughing hysterically.  
  
"Are you saying that the great General Damas, is none other than the long- lost Prince Adam? My gods, what poetic justice!"  
  
The image disappeared. Skeletor's laughter could be heard throughout Snake Mountain. Evil-Lyn however, was less than amused and wrinkled her face as if she had just tasted something bitter.  
  
Weaver seemed to share her sentiment.  
  
"We must get him out of here before he is discovered," she hissed. "I care not about the attack on Grayskull or its power. You can have at it for all I care. But I will not leave this planet with Damas!"  
  
Skeletor's laughter subsided. And for a moment he considered what Weaver was saying. He knew she had always been the most faithful follower of Hordak so it surprised him to know that she would readily betray him or Horde Prime for that matter.  
  
In the end, he cared not. Getting rid of Damas would only be an asset to Skeletor. But he had no intention on sending that foolish young man back to Hordak. Afterall, the kidnapped son of the king would bring quite a ransom.  
  
He knew Randor would give ANYTHING to have his child back. Even his kingdom. He counted on Randor's sentimentality as he began to form a plan.  
  
For now, he would let Weaver believe he was agreeable to her plan. He knew Eternia better than she and he knew exactly how to play the cards.  
  
"Long live the prince," he thought to himself. 


	18. CHAPTER 18

****Rights disclaimer in chapter one  
  
CHAPTER 18  
  
Shadow Weaver was no fool.  
  
She knew better than to trust Skeletor to aid her in getting Damas off Eternia. She also knew that if she didn't play her cards right and quickly, it wouldn't matter if she took him back to Etheria because her master would kill the young man without a second thought.  
  
And there would be nothing she would be able to do to stop him, either. Her loyalty to the Horde ran deep. But her loyalty to Hordak ran much deeper.  
  
She had surprised herself by being shocked when she was referred to as "Lightspinner" again. It had been years since anyone had referred to her by her birth name.  
  
Born on Etheria, she had inherited her magic from her father, Norwyn: a skilled wizard who had many students. None of which excelled in the magical arts as she did.  
  
Well, there was maybe one student who could have been just as great, but Weaver had taken care of her in a way that almost guaranteed she would never get the chance to upstage her.  
  
You see, while her father had taught her the beauty of magic and the wonder of good in her life, her mother had taught her that when you want something, you had to take it because no one ever really gave anything from the goodness of their hearts.  
  
Lightspinner was often told by her mother that it was a good thing she was beautiful, with long raven black hair, sparkling green eyes and a firm, supple yet porcelain skinned body.  
  
"You're going to have to make it on your looks child," she had been told. "Because no one is every going to respect you for your mind."  
  
When her father died at the hands of her drunken wench of a mother, Lightspinner decided it was time to find her own life. At that time, she believed she would not find what she was looking for on Etheria.  
  
With the help of one of her father's most ancient and secret spells, she opened a portal to another world and vowed on her father's grave and her own blood never to set foot on Etheria again.  
  
The spell transported her to Eternia, a small planet whose people and cultures were not so different from Etheria's. But unlike her home planet, this place was war torn as battles raged in almost every town and village.  
  
It was there that she met Hordak. In the grand scheme of things, it was an uneventful meeting. He led an assault on a village where she had found work and shelter as a tavern maid. At first, she was happy with her independence and found that with the proper spell, the customers were very gracious with their coin pouches.  
  
But it was not long before she grew tired of that life. She yearned for adventure and power. She wanted to make things happen and for people to respect, and more importantly, fear her.  
  
When the Horde attacked, she-along with everyone else in the town-was captured. While most of the villagers, including women and children, were executed right away, she managed to convince Hordak that she could be of use to him, if he would allow her to be.  
  
Putting it mildly, he found more than her magic useful on many occasions. And every time, Lightspinner's soul darkened. She was a willing participant in all of his escapades, whether they were destroying a village and killing its people, strategy planning or the "victory celebrations" where it was usually just she and Hordak doing the "celebrating."  
  
She took pleasure in all of it. As long as she was with Hordak, she was feared. As long as she stayed loyal to him, she had power.  
  
It was like her mother had taught her and she was putting it to good use. After a period of time, the part of her that was her father died completely and she surrendered herself wholly to darkness.  
  
Skeletor was a bane in her existence with the Horde, however. At the time of the great Horde war, he still had a face and was called "Keldor." The ambitious little twit was a good wizard too and did whatever he could to upstage Lightspinner.  
  
She knew early on she would need to dispose of him before Hordak decided only one of them would be necessary to his cause. She would be damned before she let herself be pushed out of the Horde by a two-bit protégé.  
  
Plus, Randor's army was starting to make headway against the Horde. Hordak's battles were being lost at an alarming rate and it appeared that at anytime, he would be defeated.  
  
She couldn't go back to being tavern maid after getting such a taste of power, and that is if she were not executed for being a war criminal.  
  
So she developed a plan, so perfect that no one would ever know she was actually the one who would orchestrate the event.  
  
She convinced Hordak that the only way to defeat Randor and take Eternia was to lead an all out assault on the palace. Put everything they had into it. While the guard would be distracted by the assault, she and Keldor would use their magic to get inside the palace and kill the members of the Royal family. The people of Eternia would have no choice but to surrender.  
  
Hordak liked the idea. He even took credit for it, which worked just fine for Lightspinner. But on the day of the assault, it backfired.  
  
She and Keldor followed the plan, for the most part. It was after they got into the palace that Keldor decided with all the king's guard fighting the Horde, that had to mean the temple of the Elders, a place of limitless power, had been left unguarded.  
  
So he abandoned her there and fled with a fraction of rebels who would not serve the Horde, nor the King. But he didn't leave before giving her a goodbye present. He hit her hard with a spell that temporarily disabled her magic. Powerless, she was left to die at the hands of her enemy.  
  
Many years later, through Horde communications, she learned that Keldor had botched his attack on the elders and was severely injured in the ensuing battle before being banished to the dark hemisphere of Eternia.  
  
She had also learned that he had lost his face in the battle and was now being referred to as "Skeletor" by those who worked with him.  
  
But she wasn't ready to give up so easily and was far from inept at survival. She quickly managed to kill one of the chambermaids with an abandoned sword she found and stole her uniform, which included a scarf that went across her face.  
  
She then quickly made her way through the palace, determined to find a way out with her life intact. What she did find, however, was more than a way out.  
  
She found a secret room where the queen and her two infant brats were being kept hidden from the battle outside.  
  
The queen seemed puzzled by the chambermaid's entrance. Lightspinner knew she had to act fast if she wanted out of this alive. At the same time, she knew that Hordak would probably kill her himself when he realized her failure in the palace. She needed something to redeem herself. Something to offer him that would be as good as the blood of the royal family.  
  
She quickly told the queen that the palace had been breached and that she and the children were no longer safe. The queen, a trusting soul, who luckily for Lightspinner, was frightened beyond reason, agreed to follow her to safety.  
  
Playing on the queen's anxiety, Lightspinner told the queen they would be able to move faster if she was allowed to carry one of the children. The queen agreed, hesitantly, and handed her the prince.  
  
Even without her magic, Lightspinner knew the instant she touched the child that there was a special power within him. If she made it out of the palace alive with the brat, she would be very interested in exploring that more.  
  
While the queen was distracted by her daughter's cry, Lightspinner grabbed a nearby candlestick made of gold and hid it in her garment. As the queen bent down to lift her second child, Lightspinner brought the hilt of the candlestick down on the back of the queen's head and watched her crumple to the ground.  
  
The thought of grabbing the girl crossed Lightspinner's mind but she was knew the weight would, indeed, inhibit her getaway.  
  
Which she did, miraculously. And when she finally found Hordak in the nearby forest, fleeing the scene of the losing battle, she presented him his trophy and told him the last laugh on Eternia would be his if he took the king's only son and disappeared.  
  
Defeated, Hordak saw that as the only way not leave Eternia in disgrace. The two ran with the child but not before one of Randor's men caught up with them.  
  
By now, Lightspinner's magic had returned enough that she could cloak herself in invisibility and work to open the portal back to Etheria, where she felt they could flee to safety. She focused what little power she had on the portal while Hordak, who was carrying the young Prince Adam, and the solider fought.  
  
At some point, Hordak got the upper hand, but not before the portal was completely ready. Her magic still weakened, she could not sustain both her invisibility spell and the portal so she revealed herself just as the portal opened.  
  
With the solider defeated, she and Hordak fled to Etheria. But something went wrong.  
  
Whether it was her weakened state of magic or her previous vow of magic never to return; when Lightspinner stepped out of the portal onto her native soil, she was a monster.  
  
Her fair, porcelain skin was now cragged and tinted green, her hair was gone and her eyes, blazed with demon fire rather than sparkled like emeralds.  
  
Hordak had been repulsed by her, but while the magic of her home land had disfigured her, her power was also strengthened to great propensity.  
  
That factor, along with the knowledge that the young prince held a special power that she was sure she could decipher, was probably what had kept her alive at the time. And over the years, she had become indispensable to Hordak. Essentially, she had earned to right to live under Horde law.  
  
No longer beautiful and the only trace of good inside of her long dead, she was no longer the woman called Lightspinner.  
  
Instead her name would mean death and destruction and would strike fear into the hearts of thousands of Etherians: Shadow Weaver.  
  
If those people would respect and fear death, so would Skeletor. 


	19. CHAPTER 19

***DISCLAIMER IN CHAPTER 1.  
  
CHAPTER 19  
  
The wind raider wasn't moving fast enough for Adora as it cut through the wind at top speed. The princess pushed her air transportation to full throttle through the chilly morning air.  
  
Nestled beside her in the passenger seat lay her jeweled sword and its not so identical twin. The Sorceress had insisted that when Adora find Adam, it was she who was to give the Sword of Power to its rightful owner.  
  
Adora smiled and reached over to touch the blue steel softly.  
  
The rising Eternian suns cast light over the lush and beautiful land as below, her subjects began their morning work. Little did the anxious woman know that both she, and her subjects, would share the same fate that next day.  
  
But Adora's mind was trapped in what she knew at that moment. She had a brother. A long lost, twin brother. And he was somewhere on Eternia.  
  
Somewhere close.  
  
The fact she couldn't lock down on him frustrated her but she vowed to overturn every rock and investigate every shadow until she found him.  
  
The young woman couldn't help but get ahead of herself as thoughts of the unending possibilities raced through her mind.  
  
"What's he like?" "Is he kind?" "Does he know he was kidnapped?" "Is he a peasant?" "Is he married with a family?" "Is he a great warrior?" "Has he felt that he was missing a part of him his entire life as I have?"  
  
The last question was the one that weighed the heaviest on Adora's mind. She was angry and frustrated to learn of her brother's existence, but only because she felt she had been lied to.  
  
But her new found knowledge made her heart soar and brought a great sense of hope to her burdened soul at its deepest root. The missing piece had been discovered and she would stop at nothing until she had her brother back.  
  
She bit her lip and pressed the wind raider ahead more, so that it began to shake at being put to such an extreme test. Another thought struck her with a heavy blow to the chest.  
  
"What if he doesn't want to be part of my life?"  
  
She frowned at the little voice inside her head that sounded remarkably like Teela's.  
  
"What if he has a life and doesn't want this one? What if he rejects our family? Would he reject me?" "Would he reject his destiny?"  
  
Adora's face began to burn again with anger, not directed toward her brother but at the situation they were in. She cursed the Horde silently for creating this mess for it was they who had deprived her of her twin and it was they who deprived him of his true life.  
  
And as the Sorceress said, it was they who had deprived Eternia of a great warrior.  
  
The image of the man she saw back at Grayskull flashed into her memory. What she hadn't told the Sorceress was that when she saw him, she was awed by the feeling of power that over took her. And for mere mental image, that was strange.  
  
But strange in a positive, "things are about to change," way. Why, if her brother did take on his destiny as the Sorceress had predicted, surely the two of them together could defeat Skeletor and his minions once and for all. Then peace could come back to her homeland.  
  
She smiled to herself at what that meant.  
  
"Calen would love that," she thought to herself. "For I would finally have real time to make for him...for us."  
  
A warm rush raced up her spine. The prospect of everything settling into place was a happy notion that she would embrace whole-heartedly and her heart pounded in her chest.  
  
On the ground below, the palace airfield began to emerge and soon Adora was able to make out the figure of her teacher waiting on the ground below. She smiled and waved to him with one arm while using the other to start landing operations.  
  
So enthralled by the idea of complete and total happiness, she had no idea just how chaotic her world was about to become.  
  
******  
  
Inside the palace, Queen Marlena stared silently out the window of her private quarters.  
  
She knew she could be wrong. She knew that what she believed in her heart could merely be a figment of imagination from her head. Created from a memory of one she yearned to hold again since that fateful day so many years ago.  
  
Part of her hoped she was wrong. Albeit a very small part, for her body was filled with anxious tension.  
  
She was sure it was him. His eyes, while cold and angry, were the same she had memorized when he was an infant. And while the rest of his appearance was strikingly like those she imagined would be, she knew in her heart when she saw his distant blue eyes that her son had finally come home.  
  
Unfortunately she had fainted before she could alert the guards and with her time of rest also came some clarity and suspicion. For, even if it was her missing son, the man that had stood before her wore the Horde crest and had been there to murder her husband. These facts sat uneasily on her mind for she believed that no child of her's would ever be capable of killing. And no doubt, if this man was in fact a member of the Horde, than murder would, of course, be a favorite past-time for him.  
  
But soon she would question him in hopes of learning the truth. For, if he was indeed Adam, then he had been robbed of his true family and his real life. In exchange, he had been given one of evil and despair. And the thought of her precious child being raised to inflict harm and destroy good, tore at Marlena's heart like a Congragorian blade.  
  
She took a deep breath as she heard footsteps approach her doors and braced herself as she felt the wind from the doors open.  
  
"Marlena! What in the name of all Eternia do you think you're doing?!?"  
  
The queen relaxed her body and turned to meet the wide-eyed stare of her king. Randor's face was quite pale and his hands, outstretched to her, were shaking very badly.  
  
"My love, if you'll just let me explain.."  
  
But how could she explain? She hadn't told him because she wanted to be absolutely sure first. She could not in good conscious, give her son back to her husband without first having her son to give. She could not, nor would she do that to the man she loved more than anything else.  
  
Randor put his hands up in a flustered movement.  
  
"I wish someone would explain! I was just informed that you have requested an audience with that..that..FIEND!"  
  
Marlena flinched. She hadn't stopped to think that there was a possibility her love considered this stranger to be a fiend when he could, in fact, be his own flesh and blood. She began to question how Randor would react if indeed, it did turn out to be true.  
  
Would he even believe it?  
  
She took a deep breath and smiled as much as she could.  
  
"My dear," she coaxed. "I merely wish to question him. I can assure you there will be multiple guards nearby and he will be bound in chains."  
  
That thought alone sent pangs of guilt into her stomach, the thought of her son who had been missing for so long, bound up in the steel of his own father's dungeons.  
  
"I wish to question him of the Horde and of his reason for being here," she continued. She wasn't really lying to Randor, but she couldn't tell him of her real suspicions just yet. "It would make more sense for me to conduct the inquiry rather than you, since it appears he doesn't like you very much."  
  
Randor huffed and crossed his arms. An inquiry did need to be conducted and it was procedure for it to be conducted by a member of the Royal Court. But that included Capt. Calen and Duncan and even Adora if need be. He could not fathom why Marlena would be so insistent.  
  
"Beloved," he stammered. "This man is, no doubt, a murderer. If he was willing to kill me, I feel with some certainty that he would most likely try to kill you as well. Don't you think it's in our best interest to allow Man-At-Arms or the Captain to question him?"  
  
Marlena sighed and took her husband's hands. Her eyes met his and she smiled nervously at him.  
  
"Darling, I have conducted inquiries before," she said slowly. "As the queen, it is part of my responsibility. I feel quite certain that, if this stranger had really wanted to harm us, he would not have let Teela stop him. I believe, with my heart and soul, that he is of no threat to us."  
  
Randor's mouth hung agape as if to protest but seeing the look in his wife's eyes, he knew further protest would be useless. Frustrated, he cleared his throat and squeezed his wife's hands.  
  
"Your instincts are never wrong, my love," he conceded. "But I fear for your safety, nonetheless. You will therefore instruct Lt. Teela to keep him under armed surveillance during your inquiry. Of that, I must command you."  
  
Marlena nodded hesitantly. She had wished to conduct the interview privately but she trusted Teela with her life.  
  
Randor smiled lopsidedly and kissed his wife on the forehead. As he left, he paused.  
  
"Report to me with your findings immediately," he said flatly and exited the room.  
  
Marlena sighed and sat in a nearby, velvet plush chair. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window again. As she got caught up in her thoughts, she started to hum softly. Softly, but loud enough that it could be heard over the approaching footsteps and sounds of chains rustling on the floor.  
  
*****  
  
Damas paused for a moment outside the chamber door and frowned. He cocked his head to get a better listen to the song coming from the next room.  
  
There was something about the melody that captured his attention and a strange feeling tugged at his chest.  
  
"Why should I know that song?" he thought to himself.  
  
As he tried desperately to search his mind, he listened to more of it. The song puzzled him but not as much as the notion that the very same voice creating the melody was familiar to him.  
  
His pulse raced as he tried to come up with an answer. His thoughts, however, were quickly interrupted and the cold steel tip of a sword pressed up against the back of his neck.  
  
"Keep moving stranger," Teela growled. "Or I'll run you through."  
  
Damas chuckled.  
  
"Do you treat all your guests so well?" he retorted. "Honestly, the hospitality of this place is quite questionable."  
  
Teela pushed him forward and soon he was walking through the open door. Damas looked around the room and saw a middle-aged woman sitting in a chair. He recognized her from the altercation in the throne room. She looked pale and weary.  
  
And for some reason, she stared at him as if in serious concentration.  
  
"Your highness," Damas spat sarcastically as he mockingly bowed. Teela, quickly knocked him to the ground so that he was on his knees. As she did that, the queen stood quickly and approached them.  
  
Teela hovered protectively near. "Don't get too close your highness," she instructed. "This one has a bit of an attitude."  
  
Damas looked at the queen with furious eyes, expecting the same in return. Instead, she approached him silently and knelt in front of him. Teela began to protest but the queen did not hear her as she reached toward the man and softly touched his face.  
  
Damas' expression changed from anger to confusion at the touch of the regal woman. She seemed to be searching for something in his face as her hands moved across his cheeks down to his shoulders.  
  
After what felt like several minutes, her faced flushed and her chest began to jerk quietly.  
  
Teela looked on in confusion and Damas frowned as Marlena's eyes started to fill with tears.  
  
"Oh my Adam," she gasped between sobs as she pulled him into a firm embrace. "Oh my son, what have they done to you?" 


	20. CHAPTER 20

**Sorry this took so long guys. I got stuck trying to figure out the best way to go with this and I didn't want to shoot from the hip. Anyway, I hope the process will go faster now. Thanks everyone for their reviews. Any input: good or bad, is ALWAYS appreciated! :)  
  
***Disclaimer in One.  
  
CHAPTER 20  
  
Several minutes passed in silence with the exception of the Queen's sobs which were muffled as she cried into the captive's shoulder.  
  
Even the Lieutenant said nothing. She just stared, mouth agape, awestruck by the events that had unfolded in front of her.  
  
The General sat very still and said nothing. His face was completely devoid of reaction or emotion. He just sat there as the Queen of Eternia cried her heart out on his shoulder. As her arms embraced the rest of his upper torso tightly.  
  
After several more minutes, the Queen slowly pulled back and clasped the General's face with both hands, forcing him to look her in the eyes.  
  
The General's eyes were blank but the Queen had the memory of their familiar beauty burned into her mind. Call it maternal instinct or the fact that she saw those eyes every night in her dreams, she knew the eyes of her son.  
  
Her son, the prince.  
  
Her Adam.  
  
She felt her throat start to tighten up again and fought against the warm tears that once again started to well up in her eyes. She stared at the General intently before gently pushing a stray lock of hair away from his eye.  
  
"My son....." she whispered. "My beautiful boy."  
  
Still the General did not move or speak.  
  
Teela wasn't even sure if he was breathing but the intensity of the moment kept her frozen in her place.  
  
Marlena dropped her hands down to the General's shackled wrists and covered his hands with her own. Slowly, she raised Damas' hands to her face and softly rubbed her cheek against them.  
  
The General did not flinch.  
  
"Oh my Adam," the queen choked. "People will fear you. They already do. Your hands are controlled by the Horde."  
  
She looked at him again and squeezed his hands.  
  
"But I KNOW, that you are not lost to us yet," she whispered again, mostly because her throat tightened to avoid the sobs from her diaphragm. "You may have been a pawn to the Horde, but you were NEVER one of them. Not in your soul anyway. And definitely not in your heart."  
  
The General remained silent.  
  
"Do you remember any of it?" the Queen seemed to be pleading more than asking. "You were an infant but do you not remember us.....me?"  
  
She placed one hand on his face again and looked imploringly into his eyes.  
  
"Do you not recognize the touch of your mother? My voice? My embrace?"  
  
The General sat still.  
  
"Do you understand that they STOLE you from us, Adam?" the Queen pushed to break through. "Do you understand that you are NOT a member of the Horde? You are the prince of Eternia. You are Adam, Prince of Eternia. Son of King Randor and Queen Marlena. Twin brother to Adora, Princess of Eternia. Do you hear me? You are a son and a brother and a prince. Your place was here and it was STOLEN from you by the Horde!!!"  
  
The General did not react to the Queen's outburst. After what seemed to be a long pause, she sighed and cupped his chin.  
  
"You may not think you know but in your heart, you do," she said through gritted teeth, gritted because her body was slowly succumbing to the racking sobs in her body. "You know ME, Adam. Your blood is my blood. Your life is my heart. Search within yourself and you will find me. You will find the home that I know in my heart you have been missing for so long."  
  
The Queen gave into her emotions and buried her head in her hands as she sobbed heavily.  
  
Teela stood by, stunned and silent.  
  
Damas stared at the crying Queen. Finally, he blinked and his upper lip twitched. He cocked his head to the side.  
  
The Queen sensed the man's movement and looked up at him with teary, bloodshot eyes.  
  
Several more moments passed as the three people in the room sat, motionless. Damas' mouth continued to twitch as if he were trying to say something. The Queen smiled at him and nodded her head, tears running down her blushed cheeks.  
  
The General finally spit out the word he seemed to be searching for.  
  
".....mah....Mother?"  
  
**********  
  
Outside the mighty doors of the palace room that held the three occupants, a strange, green mist floated low to the ground, working its way around the corners and up the walls.  
  
The five guardsmen stationed in front of the doors didn't know what hit them and within seconds, they were all on the ground unconscious.  
  
*********  
  
This time it was the General who began to cry.  
  
Marlena embraced her son again and held him as they both seemed to be overcome by their emotions.  
  
"Finally!" She thought as she stroked his hair. "Finally, its over. Its all over."  
  
The chains around Damas' wrists rattled as he brought his hands up to his face.  
  
The Queen frowned.  
  
*******  
  
Teela finally snapped to when she realized Marlena had snatched the keychain hanging from her belt and before the Lieutenant could object, the Queen was unlocking the wrist cuffs that restrained her son.  
  
"Your majesty wa...."  
  
Teela didn't get to finish her sentence.  
  
Everything happened in an instant.  
  
The queen unlocked the General's wrist cuffs and ankle cuffs and moved to embrace him again.  
  
But Damas had other plans.  
  
As quick as lightning, the General was up. His eyes burned with fury and cheeks were red. Teela moved to subdue him but he was too fast and too strong. With little effort, he threw the Lieutenant into the Queen and they both went crashing into the wall on the other side of the room.  
  
"The Great Hordak warned me about such tricks!" he spat at the two unconscious women on the floor. "Your son, indeed!"  
  
He spun and reached for the doorknobs.  
  
The doors, however, sprung open before he could even grip the brass.  
  
The General smirked.  
  
"It's about time you decided to make yourself useful," he grunted. "Would have been nice if you could have been here a little sooner."  
  
Shadow Weaver hovered in the air on the other side of the door. A second later, both she and the General vanished.  
  
********  
  
The wind raider touched down as the alarm sirens started to go off. Adora hopped out of the raider and ran towards the palace, both swords traveling in the holster on her back.  
  
No sooner had she turned the corner into the palace doors when a strong hand grabbed her arm and jerked her into a dark corner.  
  
The princess spun and glared at her captor.  
  
It was Calen.  
  
He put a finger to her lips and pulled her farther out of the light. He loosened the grip on her arm as she followed him. When the Captain of the Guard was finally sure they were alone, he pulled the Princess into a strong embrace.  
  
Fairly shocked by his changed disposition towards her, Adora allowed herself to sink into his arms. Forgetting the alarms going off around them, she nestled her face into his neck and breathed in his scent.  
  
For a second, she forgot about the world and gave herself up to her heart.  
  
Calen stroked her long, blonde hair and continued to squeeze her tightly. Finally, Adora giggled and pulled back so she could look her love in the face.  
  
"So I assume this means you're speaking to me again," she joked.  
  
Calen cupped her cheek in his hand, and nodded. She smiled and looked around.  
  
"So, um, what's going on?" she asked. "Why are the alarms sounding?"  
  
Calen took a deep breath and held her arms tightly.  
  
"A Horde Assassin, the one we fear had breached the palace before, tried to kill your father," he said slowly. "We captured him but while they were performing an inquiry, he attacked you mother and Lt. Teela. They weren't hurt badly, but the fiend got away. I'm certain he'll be back."  
  
Adora gasped in shock and jerked away.  
  
"I have to go to them!" she yelped as she pulled back. "I have to make sure they are alright."  
  
With his strength, Calen pulled her back to him and forced her to look at his face.  
  
"Listen to me," he said sternly. "He's still out there. And it appears he's hunting the Royal Family. So as far you are concerned, I'm not letting you out of my sight. Its my duty to protect you."  
  
Adora stiffened and her expression fell serious.  
  
"Your duty?" she retorted. "I am nothing more than your duty?"  
  
She yanked herself from his grip and started to walk away when the Captain grabbed her by the arm and fiercely pulled her back to him. Forcefully, her pulled her waist to his with one hand and grabbed her head with the other. His fingers entwined themselves in her golden locks as he pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was filled with longing and for several minutes, the two people gave into the other's hunger.  
  
When they finally broke apart, Calen embraced Adora and buried his face into her hair.  
  
"Don't you see?" he whispered. "I have to protect you. I love you too much to let anything happen to you."  
  
Adora sighed at Calen's confession. While it made her heart pound, it made her mind race.  
  
"How am I going to do MY duty with him watching me like hawk?" she wondered as she tilted her head to meet his lips once again. 


	21. CHAPTER 21

**Disclaimer in One. I don't claim any rights to MOTU or POP, this is just for fun.  
  
***Feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated. I know this seems a little long so far, and in all honesty, I'm only about half way through the story so please, bear with me. Thanks all!  
  
CHAPTER 21  
  
The green tiger lay lazily by Damas' tent and popped open an eye as the two approached the campsite. Slowly, he rose up from his back haunches, stretched out his front legs and sauntered over to the rock when Damas plopped down and sighed in frustration.  
  
Behind him, Shadow Weaver hovered above the ground, her arms crossed and the green flames of her eyes flickering in anger.  
  
"That was the most foolish thing you have ever done!" she hissed at him. "You could have been killed!"  
  
Damas waived his arm in dismissal and shook his head. He didn't want to hear this from her. She was a witch, not a warrior. She had no concept of honor and victory so what did she know of his intentions.  
  
Still, he had never seen her like this before. She was actually shaking and at first, Damas had chalked it up to anger. But now he thought differently. Now he recognized the scent coming off of her.  
  
She reeked of fear. This puzzled the General.  
  
"What could she possibly have to be afraid of?" he thought, amused that even the most wicked and vile sorceress known in the history of all Etheria was scared of something.  
  
But what was it?  
  
He scratched the cringer on the head and walked over to his tent, reached in and grabbed a canteen of water. After a few hearty swigs, he put it back and pulled out his maps. Weaver still hung back, still fuming from the General's lack of regard.  
  
Perhaps she feared punishment from Hordak, Damas considered. His father would indeed be very annoyed with the witch if he were to fall into the hands of the enemy and fail the mission. But Damas knew that as angry as his father would be with Weaver, he would receive ten fold the punishment for failing to obey orders.  
  
And with what given time he had left to finalize plans for the assault on Grayskull, he had to focus. Randor would have to wait until another time. Next time, Damas would finish the job.  
  
"If I wanted an lecture from you witch, I'd have asked for it," he said curtly as he checked over ammunition plans. "Granted, it was a setback time wise, but not so much of one that I won't be prepared for our mission. Speaking of which, where in the hells have you been?"  
  
He waited for Shadow Weaver to respond but instead she just glared at him. After several minutes, the green flames narrowed.  
  
"I was investigated the forest surrounding Grayskull," she hissed again. "Trying to determine what we will have to work with."  
  
Which was partly true, she had been near Grayskull for a time, trying to get a feel for its magic. If Damas were to succeed here, she would have to find a weakness in Grayskull's power. Above all else, she had to figure out a way to protect Damas from succumbing to it.  
  
However, she had been closer to him than he realized. She watched him from afar, seeing how he reacted to his birthplace-even if it didn't remember it as such. The scene in the market had been most troublesome to her. As he screamed in pain, she tried to get into his mind, to subdue his memories and for the most part, she was sure she had succeeded. For the most part.  
  
Still, she would take no chances from here on out.  
  
Damas looked at her, shook his head and chuckled.  
  
"What we have to work with?" he said lightly. "By Hordak this is going to be a long day."  
  
As far as he was concerned, Weaver was useless. He was still alive, and would have gotten out of the palace by himself if so needed. In fact, he felt it would have been a lot easier to get out of the palace than it was to get into it. Randor's men were not fools by any means, but they were not the type of warriors Damas was used to going up against.  
  
Well, with maybe the exception of the redhead. For a woman, she could pack quite the punch. In different circumstances, she could be of use to the Horde. Unfortunately, her loyalties belonged to a coward and that could end up costing her.  
  
Damas sighed. For some unexplainable reason, he really did not want to have to kill her. He frowned at the memory of the events that had taken place just hours ago.  
  
Something tugged at his stomach, a feeling of uneasiness about the whole situation. When he was captured, he expected to be interrogated and tortured. Instead, well what happened was definitely not expected.  
  
He shook it off. Hordak had warned him that Eternia would play tricks on his mind and he was right. Damas was proud that he had heeded his father's warning but made a mental note to keep what had happened to himself. The way Weaver had been shaking, he got the distinct impression she wouldn't be too eager to make any reports to Hordak about it either.  
  
So for the time being, what had just transpired was in the past. He had work to do.  
  
*********  
  
Teela's head hurt. A LOT. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings. After a few seconds she figured out where she was.  
  
The infirmary.  
  
"Great," Teela breathed as she slowly started to pull herself up. Soon she felt strong arms behind her back, supporting her wait.  
  
Man-At-Arms smiled softly and stood next to his daughter's bed. She looked at him and smiled back.  
  
"How long have I been here?" she asked.  
  
Man-At-Arms started to explain when the glass door opened behind him and Calen walked through. She moved to salute the Captain but he put his hand up and shook his head, as if to say "At ease."  
  
Teela smiled weakly as her father kept talking about what the healer had said. But she knew her body; she knew she was okay, minus the massive headache she now suffered.  
  
In the room next to hers, she saw the Queen, fast asleep. The King sat protectively beside her as Adora looked on.  
  
"This is not good," she thought to herself as she turned her attention back to her father. But then, the memory of what had just occurred flashed through her mind and knocked her roughly back to reality. Teela closed her eyes and tried to focus on them, desperately trying to come to grips with what had just transpired.  
  
"Oh God, Adora....." she thought to herself. She looked again into the other room and watched as Adora wiped a tear away. She turned and for a split second the two women's eyes locked.  
  
Teela felt all the blood drain away from her face as the realization hit her harder than she had hit the wall.  
  
Those eyes. She had looked into those eyes before she had blacked out. Those eyes were angry and tormented but they were the same stunning blue eyes. Then she remembered what the Queen had said.  
  
She turned to her father.  
  
".....find that scoundrel and lock him up forever. That Hordesman will wish........."  
  
Even though she herself couldn't believe it, every instinct in her body told her that her heart was right about this one. She had to tell him.  
  
"Father, wait!" she blurted out.  
  
*********  
  
Adora and Calen barged into the infirmary where Teela, the Queen and the fallen guardsmen were taken. Randor was already there, by the Queen's bedside, holding her hand.  
  
Adora fought back the tears that came flooding to her as she saw the bruises on her mother. But the healer had said she had only a knock on the head and would be fine. Still, this was her mother. Her kind, loving mother and someone was responsible for putting her here. Adora made a mental note to find that person.  
  
In the next room, Man-At-Arms was helping Teela up out of her sickbed. Calen squeezed Adora's hand and went to talk to his lieutenant. Adora approached her father's back and put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
Randor didn't budge. The princess could feel the anger radiating from him, she let the tears form in her eyes but wiped them away quickly.  
  
She looked into the other room again, only to have see Teela staring back at her. Wide-eyed and pale as a ghost.  
  
"I wonder if she's okay?" she thought to herself.  
  
"I want that monster found," Randor seethed as Adora returned her attention to him. "I want him found and I want him imprisoned in the deepest, dankest, darkest cell in the dungeon. He will pay for this atrocity."  
  
Adora was a little taken off guard by her father's ferociousness. He was a fair man who put more emphasis on rehabilitation than punishment. She had never seen him so angry.  
  
But in her mind, she wanted to agree with her father. This Hordesman, the one who did this, would wish he had never set foot on Eternia when she was done with him. Or rather when She-Ra was done with him.  
  
She looked into the other room again and something caught her eye. It was the expression on Calen's face. She had never seen it before. It was then that she noticed the look on Duncan's face. He too seemed bewildered. Confused, she went to the adjoining door and opened it.  
  
Just as she stepped through, she heard Teela's voice. And what Teela said made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.  
  
"I know it sounds crazy but I saw his eyes!" Teela blurted out. "The Queen called the prisoner 'Adam.' Don't you see, father? The Hordesman is Prince Adam!" 


	22. CHAPTER 22

Disclaimer in Chapter 1

CHAPTER 22

"I won't let you succumb to this madness. Please, I implore you to be sensible this time."

Adora's eyes narrowed and her face flushed hot with anger. Despite her feelings for the captain, as intense as they were, nothing put her off more than to be ordered by someone who she considered her partner.....her equal. She never took orders from anyone, save her parents, Duncan and the Sorceress and even then, she knew what they asked of her was for the greater good.

But not this again. She didn't have time for such childishness.

She had not seen him follow her and she had finally noticed his presence in the woods in the nick of time. Her sword was drawn and the words she had spoken so many times before to invoke the magic that gave her strength in so many ways, were caught in her throat.

She spun and stared at him, dropping her arm and her sword to her side. This was an old argument, one she was tired of having with him.

"You are not in any position to order me to do anything. Do not make me remind you of your rank," Adora spat. "In both our public and private lives."

Her words stung him and she regretted them the second they left her lips. She softened a bit as she watched him let out a sigh and look away. It was a defense mechanism she had learned too well about him. He could stare the most monstrous of all creatures down in any fight, hold his head high even as the most vile phrases are shouted in his ears, but when any type of scolding came from her mouth, it cut him to the core.

And she knew it. She was his one weakness.

But that was beside the point. Time was of the essence. She had a duty, not only to the world she protected, but also to her family. She owed it to her parents, to Duncan, to find out the truth, whatever it may be. Everyone she held dear deserved some kind of closure.

In her heart, she hoped it wouldn't be definite closure she would provide them, but that which had left a gaping whole of misery in their family bond all of her life. While she had been spared the suffering, they lived each day with the accursed knowledge that the greatest battle they had ever had was lost each day that her brother was taken.

If she had to move all of the heavens and hells in the universe, she would bring him back. She knew in her heart that he would help fill that void in her parents...in her.

But she wouldn't be able to do that if she had every step watched by the person she loved above all others.

"I didn't mean that," she said looking away. "But you can't shelter me from this."

Calen opened his mouth and closed it again, rethinking his decision to speak. Adora approached him and caressed his cheek gently with her hand.

"You cannot protect me from the world," she whispered. "I have seen too much. Teela is right, I believe it in my heart. My brother is here and this is my chance to save him. Please, if you love me, don't stand in my way."

He stared into her eyes and grasped her hand firmly in his.

"It is because I love you that I stand here," he said softly. "I have to consider the possibility that he can't be saved. He has spent too much time away from Eternia. We....you are as foreign to him as any other stranger and we don't know how he'll react, even in the face of the truth. He has already struck out violently against your mother. I won't....I can't let him take you down too."

Adora sighed and pulled away, but she kept his gaze, never once blinking.

"You have my heart Calen, you always will have it," she said. "But never, ever, put me in the position to choose this way again. This situation is not applicable to an ultimatum. For someone who claims to love me so, I would have thought you would have known me better."

He stiffened his back, she had driven in the knife deeper.

"I know you better than you think, Princess," he said through gritted teeth. "Whether you will ever choose to confront your own demons, even the ones you don't think I know about, is up to you. But I won't spend the rest of my life watching you kill yourself over them."

His tone and the look in his eyes alarmed her. But urgency pulled at her senses. With one last glance, she spun on her heels and dashed away, leaving the captain where he stood.

"Damn him," she muttered as she ran, silent tears forming in her eyes.

So engrossed in her thoughts she never once considered that the whole argument had been carefully watched.

Skeletor rested a scaly finger on his chin and chuckled to himself.

"This is almost too easy," he hissed the doomseeker turned its projection off and flittered away.

He glared at his minions who stood silently by, waiting for their finals orders. The plan was set, the pawns had played perfectly into his hands.

Skeletor knew Adora would be the key to Damas' downfall. Her desperate loyalty to a man she had never met was all too predictable. It was sweet irony to the dark overlord. Yes, the princess would ensure that his plan would work perfectly, that is if the prima donna prince played his part.

He turned to his soldiers and with a wave of his hand set his plan into motion.

"You know what to do," he growled. "I expect perfect execution this time, no mistakes or else."

From the air, Teela could see all that surrounded the palace. The afternoon air was light and the warmth of the sun felt god on her skin. She was grateful to be on reconnaissance duty, it allowed her to escape the whispers and stares she was receiving back at the palace.

"They think I've gone mad," she thought bitterly to herself. "It doesn't take a genius to put the pieces of this puzzle together. They refuse to see it because it's not comfortable for them. That or because they refuse to listen to a woman."

She scolded herself for having such thoughts and rolled her eyes in frustration. Her father forbade her to tell the king and queen of her notion. Especially after Adora took off without a trace. Calen, who she knew was upset with her outburst and would probably assign her to street duty for the next several sunrises, had followed the princess, most likely in an attempt to sooth her. He was probably the only one that could.

"Those two should just get married and get it over with," she thought, partly in sarcasm and partly in honest observation.

She hadn't wished to hurt any of them. But she knew what she knew. Her father had always instructed her to trust her instincts and this time, her instincts was screaming inside her mind, her heart and from the deepest recesses of her soul. She had never been so sure of anything in her life. It was as if she had known the prince her entire life even though up until a few days ago, she never even knew he existed.

Her instincts also told her something very clearly: She couldn't give up on him, not when she felt so much. In fact, the crazy stir of emotions that were raging inside her, seemed to be steering her in a calculated way. As if every move she made since her discovery was not random in a random way.

It was lunacy, even she knew, but something told her to follow what her mind and heart were telling her.

The static of the radio broke her concentration and soon she heard her father's voice.

"Teela, come in."

She picked up the received and prayed she wasn't going to be lectured about something.

"I'm here, go ahead father."

There was a pause and finally Man-At-Arms' spoke again.

"I believe you."

Teela smiled.

"Thanks, Dad," she said confidently. "I think I'm going to head towards Grayskull. I've got a gut feeling."

His response was quick.

"Be careful and report back with any findings."

She changed her direction and clicked on the radio one last time.

"Will do."

The windraider arched in the air and Teela started in a new course, in more ways than she knew about.


	23. CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 23

Disclaimer in Chap. 1

CHAPTER 23

Dusk was approaching. Usually before a great battle, any battle in fact, his nerves were calm, focused.

Not this time, and it bothered him.

Damas felt like he was on fire and freezing at the same time. His senses were acute, waiting for something to happen but nothing was in front of him. In fact, the forest around him was quiet except for the common sounds of nature.

He had no real reason to be alarmed.

He knew the portal to Etheria would open soon and hundreds of Horde troops would cross through. He had spent the rest of the day finalizing plans for the attack. Shadow Weaver, claiming the need to rest, had disappeared again.

So now, with just moments between him and destiny, Damas knelt crouched behind a boulder, staring through the brush at his mark: the Castle Grayskull.

It fascinated him that Horde Prime wanted control of the ancient ruin so badly. On appearance, it looked haggard, with hundreds of years of moss and vines growing up the sides. The rock it was built of even looked more ancient.

"This old castle will probably fall over during the next heavy storm," he mused. "We'll be doing these people a favor."

The fact that a large skull stared back at him made it even stranger. It was definitely not a grand palace for kings and queens to reside in.

But Prime wanted to control whatever "great source of magic" laid within its realms, which posed an even greater question to the General.

"Magic," he whispered to himself. "Why should Prime have need of magic? He is the most powerful being in the universe. What is so important about this magic, this power, Hordak spoke of?"

Damas was frustrated. He knew he should not ask such questions. He had been given a duty and he should fulfill it.

But he could not maintain his focus and it flustered him. No matter how hard he tried, thoughts of the Eternian queen's words kept racing through his mind. As did the memory of the look he exchanged with Randor the coward. Not too mention thoughts of the red-headed warrior and her sparkling eyes. It was as if something had passed between them before.

And then there was this old castle. It should mean nothing to him but for some unexplainable reason, he felt different in its vicinity. It was a feeling he had never experienced before. It was almost as if he belonged there.

This troubled him more than anything, especially since he would soon lead the invasion that would ultimately destroy it.

That's when it struck him. The thought of Grayskull's destruction was torturing him with something he had been trained never to feel: Guilt.

He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his temples.

"Why should I care what becomes of this place," he thought. "Its for the good of the Horde. The good of the Horde. Good of the Horde....the Horde....."

Suddenly, Damas felt the bile rise in his throat and he lurched forward from the nausea. Dizziness overwhelmed him and he sank to his knees.

"What's happening to me," he asked himself shakily. "Surely this can't all be from magic."

His eyes still closed he tried to focus, to gain some clarity to the situation. He forced himself to empty his mind. He would rest and meditate. Perhaps that would help him.

Almost as if he were asleep, he found himself lost in thoughts of his childhood and he resigned to them. The memories of long days spent in tutelage to be a good soldier. Hordak and Shadow Weaver towering over him, commanding him to do better, think faster, get results. All for the good of the Horde.

Among them, a specific memory floated into his mind. He was young, barely 16-years-old, when some troopers brought a man accused of stealing from the Horde stables in front of Hordak. Damas was taught early on the laws and punishments of Hordak's rule and he knew full well the penalty for theft, as was with many others, was death.

He also knew there would be no trial and as he stood at the left arm of his father, he watched as the man begged for his life, denying the charges and pledging his loyalty to Hordak.

He had looked on the man in pity and while the memory was hazy, he seemed to recall questioning his beliefs as to what was right in this situation. That was when Hordak handed him the laserblaster and ordered him to "Prove his loyalty to the Horde."

Damas was dumbfounded. He had never taken a life before. After several moments under his father's reproachful eyes, under Shadow Weaver's fiery stare, after listening to the man groan and whimper endlessly, he did something that was entirely different from any other time he recalled the event: He handed the laser back to Hordak and ran from the room.

His eyes snapped open and he gulped for air. He had broken out into a cold sweat and put his hands on the ground to steady himself.

"No!" he thought frantically. "That's not what happened! I shot him! He was the first person I ever killed! I killed him like my father asked me too! I killed him and many others! I didn't, I couldn't have turned away!"

He searched his memory for what he believed were his true actions but nothing made sense. He couldn't picture the event that he had been reminded of for years by his "proud" father.

He searched his mind again and again and again. He searched for other memories. Great battles. Prisoner executions. Raids. Ceremonies. Each time, the haze of a false memory became thicker and thicker and his past began to escape him.

"Was it nothing more than a farce?" he asked himself bitterly, knowing in his gut to be true. It was as if by admitting such a thing, someone somewhere was lifting a dark veil that had been in front of his eyes, but he still couldn't believe it.

Exhausted, he closed his eyes again, hoping this time, meditation would overcome what he prayed was simply magic playing against him.

After a few moments in the darkness of his mind, Damas heard a strange tune. Soft and melodic and comforting. He slowly lifted his head. It was the song he had heard some many times in his dreams. It was a song he recognized.

It was the song that was coming from the Eternian Queen's chambers the day of his inquisition.

Only this time, the humming was coming from his own throat.

For a moment, he felt like he was not breathing as her words kept echoing in his head: "_Oh my son, what have they done to you?"_

Over and over again. It would not stop. Despite Damas' sobs, despite his fists pummeling down on the ground beneath him. Despite his pounding heart, the voice would not go away. Then, without warning, he heard his own voice, his own words in his head, and the message was clear:

"_Your whole life has been a lie."_

Finally, he confronted the truth, the real truth and what he was left with at that moment was havoc. He threw his head back and roared his soul-breaking anguish to the heavens above.

Nearby, from within the walls of Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress smiled.

"Welcome home, Prince Adam," she whispered.


	24. CHAPTER 24

Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Don't sue.

CHAPTER 24

Still tormented by the confusion in his head, Damas began to stagger away from the boulder, through the brush. The world around him was spinning. His hands covered most of his face as if he were trying to force the thoughts out of his head by physically pushing them.

He spun around and around walking in every direction, completely lost, like a toddler trying to find his way in a darkened room. All the while, a force pulled him closer and closer.

"_Don't fight it_," the voice in his head seemed to say. "_Here, you will find the truth_."

With desperation, he wanted to do just that. Part of him yearned to give in while another part of him struggled so intensely, he thought he might split in two right there. His soul was fighting a battle within him and he was beginning to feel that he wouldn't survive it.

Still he staggered forward and grasped within himself to find one ounce of strength. He pushed himself onward. Further and further.

"_Fight it_," the voice echoed. "_You must fight what your head's been taught in order to see what your heart has always known_."

Damas groaned in agony and stumbled again. He had found hell and now he was trying to climb out. His vision was clouded and he continued to get closer and closer to the edge of his sanity, which seemed to be buried in a deep abyss. A bottomless canyon in his mind.

He wanted to give up. It was too much. The pain he had experienced in the marketplace was nothing compared to this. It had to end.

But he couldn't let it. The edge was there. He could almost grasp it. He put his arms out and leaned forward. He felt all of the answers were within reach, if he could just get a little closer, he would find it.

Just a little closer........

It happened quickly. The wind was knocked out of him as hard as he was knocked back to his senses. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and that's when he felt the pain in the ribs. He focused and gathered his bearings.

He was on the ground. And he hurt, a lot.

"Don't move."

The voice was feminine and familiar. Its tone was commanding yet sympathetic at the same time. The General blinked hard and looked up into the same emeralds that continued to enchant him and vex him all at once.

The redheaded warrior lass. She had knocked him off his feet somehow. Damas stared at her for a moment, starting to wonder if he had been truly knocked down at all.

Teela kept a wary eye on the man. His eyes were bloodshot but still the same intense blue she remembered. But this time, the look behind them was different and it caught her off guard.

"_He looks at me as if he knows me_," she thought.

He sat up and groaned at the pain in his ribcage. He put his hand on his side and looked at her again. Teela's breath caught in her throat.

"_They have the same eyes_," she thought. "_How could no one else have seen that?_"

But he was moving again and her training caught the best of her. She unholstered her sidearm and raised it towards him.

Surprisingly, he did not react. He merely held his hand out in front of her as if to say it wasn't necessary. Still, she preferred to err on the side of caution.

"I think I've learned my lesson," he grunted as he stood.

She was much stronger than he had previously given her credit for. Smart too, she hadn't put her weapon away yet.

Teela was far from sure how to handle the situation. She knew something was different, she could feel it. But she didn't know what.

"You.....you were about to fall," she stammered. "Into the abyss. You were about to go over the side. I pushed you back."

Damas looked to the place he had been standing previously. She was right. Before him lay a wide gap. The winds howled through it with such high pitch it almost sounded like someone was screaming. He would have fallen forever.

He looked at the Lieutenant with curiosity.

"Why did you save me then?" he asked, genuinely interested in the response. To her, he was still a Hordesman, her sworn enemy.

Teela stared at him for a few moments and then slowly lowered her sidearm back to its holster. She carefully walked closer to him, keeping just enough distance in case it was a ruse.

Though in her soul, she knew it wasn't.

"You looked like you needed help," she said, still cautiously. She paused as if considering something at great depth, her concern was shown on her face. "My name is Teela. I'm a Lieutenant with the Eternian Royal Guard. My job is to help people, when they need it."

She examined his body movements, his expressions, searching for a sign of deceit. What she saw before her was confusing, but unlike the last confrontation they had in the palace, she was not alarmed. Something about his manner eased her.

The side of his mouth twitched, as if he were trying to smile but didn't know how. He tried to straighten up but grunted when a twinge of pain from his bruised ribs overtook him. He faltered, and Teela found herself jumping forward, using her arms to support him up.

Then as if he had never had a problem doing it before, Damas gazed into her eyes and smiled. Their faces only inches apart. Both of them seemed to stop breathing.

"Well, Lieutenant," he finally said. "Perhaps, you can help me again."

Teela blushed when she realized how close they were and she pulled back.

"How?" she asked apprehensively. "_What is going on here?_" she wondered.

Damas' smile faded and he looked around. After several moments of quiet he took a deep breath and looked at her, his eyes pleading.

"Help me find out who I really am."


	25. CHAPTER 25

Disclaimer in Chapter 1

This chap is a little short but it's equally as important to the storyline. Thanks everyone so far for their critiques! They are very helpful. As I've said before, any and all critiques and reviews are welcome and appreciated. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 25

The Captain's heels clicked loudly on the dark marble floors of the Fright Zone as she passed cell after cell. Prisoner after prisoner.

The dungeons reeked of musk and death. Dark moss grew in patches all over the place. Insects scurried about, finding leftover scraps and the occasional corpse to feast on.

It was truly a place reserved for the damned of Etheria.

The silence, except for a few muffled tears from some of the children who were locked up in the dark recesses of the dungeon, was broken only by the timed march of the raven-haired officer. As if on beat, she tapped her leather whip against the side of her exposed thigh.

On first appearance, one would not assume that she was among the highest ranking officers of the Horde. Her appearance exuded eroticism. Her face was almost that of a dark goddess. On top of her head rested a ruby and emerald mask. Her skin tight, red leather uniform barely covered her alabaster skin, but there was enough material for the Horde insignia. Barely enough.

But past her exotic beauty lay the icy heart of a fiend. The closest thing to a demoness of hell as one could find.

She reveled in her ferocity. It gave her power.

Catra rounded the corned, her yellow eyes narrowing as she neared the last cell. She curted her chin to the two troopers standing guard at the door who, in turn, responded with the Horde salute and walked away.

The Captain flicked her hair back over her shoulder and sauntered as close to the door as she could. Pressing her forehead against the bars through the small windows and her breasts against the cold steel, she ran both hands seductively up the front of the locked door until her arms were completely stretched above her head.

A low, guttural "purr" escaped her full, ruby red lips as she continued to rub her head on the window.

With a glint of sadism in her eyes, the Captain bit her lower lip and scratched her long, black nails down the front of the door. The sound was unbearable, like a high-pitched banshee that made everyone in the block, including the troopers, scream in agony.

Catra, on the other hand, seemed to derive insane pleasure from it and ran her nails all the way down the down. Inside the other cells, she could her chains rattling from the prisoners desperately trying to cover their ears.

She knew, however, that the prisoner behind the door in front, had not moved and was in fact, staring at her.

She giggled with an evil pitch and traced the bars with her slender fingers.

"Mmmmmeeow, I do so enjoy a good stretch before battle, don't you?" she taunted. "Something about it just, purrrrrrr, livens my senses."

The prisoner did not move and the Captain continued, almost singing her prisoner's torments.

"Rrrrrrr, your daughter and her friends are to be executed soon," she pealed gleefully. "What a pleasure it will be to see themmmmm swing from the gallows. So, sorrrrrrrry you won't be able to see them."

Still, the prisoner remained stationary. Catra, sensing that her words were being wasted, grinned nonetheless and clicked her tongue.

"Why so quiet your highness, hmmmmm?" she teased. "Cat got your tongue?"

With that, the Captain burst into maniacal laughter, turned on her heel and walked away, motioning the troopers back to their posts.

Floors above her, hundreds of Horde Troopers began to fall into battle formation.


	26. CHAPTER 26

Disclaimer in one: Please oh please don't sue.

CHAPTER 26

"Huh?"

Most of the time, Teela was a woman known not only for her excellent fighting capabilities, but also her sound advice and rousing speeches of encouragement. In those times, she knew what the right thing to say was and was able to express it with great aplomb.

This, however, was not one of those times.

"Run that one by me again?" she asked with enough caution in her voice to disguise the great amount of confusion in her head. She looked at the man standing in front of her with skepticism. It seemed like minutes ago he was pointing a sword at her Captain's throat and spewing vile things at the King. That was a foul man who had nothing but hate in his eyes.

And though physically, while everything else seemed to be the same, the darkness behind his once icy stare was gone. Teela didn't know how to interpret what had replaced it but it was much more pleasant to look at.

She knew the truth about him and now it seemed he had some questions that she could help answer. Still, something wasn't right and it bothered her so much that she inadvertently started reaching for her sidearm again.

Damas noticed her movement and normally, he would have tackled her and fought tooth and nail for the weapon. Or so he thought. But this time he took a step back and put his hands up in a retreating gesture.

"I know it sounds insane," he said pleadingly. "If it were any other time or place, I'd have thought I'd gone mad and had myself locked in a dungeon until the notion had passed. But the power of this…..thing…..well, it's too strong. I have to believe there is something here for me to find."

Teela began to understand what he was saying and started to ease from her position. Seeing her relax, Damas slowly put his arms down and began to approach her.

"Why now?" Teela asked eyeing him carefully. "And how do I know this isn't some Horde trick?"

Damas nodded and stopped less then a foot from in front of her. Teela's face flushed with heat and she prayed she wasn't blushing but something told her her face was as red as a Tarkian beet.

Damas reached out and took Teela's hand. She looked down and for the first time noticed how delicate her hands really were, especially when enclosed in such a strong hand that had no doubt held a sword as much as she. Her breath caught in her throat as Damas pulled her hand closer to him and then, ever so gently, turned it over palm up.

Then the legendary General of the great Hordak's Army did something he never did before: He surrendered his weapon.

Teela scolded herself, she was so caught up in his closeness and touch that she hadn't even realized he had drawn his own sidearm. She could hear her father yelling at her now that she could have been killed. But instead, the man folded her fingers over the cold steel of the laserblaster with her own hand and took a step back without saying a word.

"I'm unarmed m'lady," he said seriously. "You can make me your prisoner and take me back to the dungeons of your palace or you can help me find the answer to my previous question. My fate, at this point, is entirely in yours hands."

Teela contemplated what he was saying. After a few seconds of looking at him and looking at the weapon in her hand, she made her move and pointed the laserblaster at him.

Dejectedly, Damas put his hands up in the surrender sign, but then Teela surprised him again as she swiftly and smoothly threw the gun into the abyss. As they watched it fall away, Teela dusted her hands off and approached Damas.

"I may live to regret this and so help me, if this is a trick I will rededicate my life to destroying yours," she said sternly. Then she softened. "Now that that's out of the way, I'll reintroduce myself."

She took his hand in a firm grasp.

"I'm Teela," she said with a smile. "And if I'm correct, which I usually am, your name, your real name that is, is Adam, Prince of Eternia."

The General's face went pale.

"A-aadam?" he stuttered. "A prince?"

Teela nodded and motioned for her new friend to follow her.

"How is it that you know that?" he asked, just as perplexedly. "How do I know it's not a trick?"

Teela cocked her head to the side and tried to give him an answer. This would be the difficult part.

"Well," she said, looking for the right way to explain. "I….um…..you see…."

"I think there is a person that can better explain this to you than us."

Teela looked quickly to the direction from which the voice came. Damas looked in the same direction but as he did, he took a defensive stance in front of Teela, as if he expected to be attacked.

Instead, Teela put her hand tenderly on his back and walked around him toward the speaker.

"It's okay," she said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "And she's right."

Damas hesitantly followed Teela's lead and approached the person who previously addressed him.

She-Ra examined the man in front of her, taking in every detail of his face, his movements, and his voice. But it was his eyes. They were the same as hers, as their mother's, and that struck her. She fought back one urge to throw herself into his arms and another to slap him silly for the pain he had caused their family in the last few days.

But restraint had come to be her area of expertise. She knew that this man was her own blood, who was taken from her and robbed of his heritage and of her love. More so, she knew that this man had a destiny as great as hers and that the time had come for him to be reunited with the life he was supposed to have had.

But some things had to come later. Right now, she was Eternia's defender first, scorned sister second. She would deal with the latter when the time was more appropriate.

"I think the Sorceress would be better equipped to explain things, don't you Teela?" She-Ra said with little hesitation.

Teela frowned a bit. She had never been inside Grayskull and she had never spoken to the Sorceress directly. Somehow, she got the feeling that today wasn't going to be any different. She suddenly had a premonition of being sent back to the palace, alone.

And she really hated that.

"Adam," she said flatly. "This is She-Ra. One of Eternia's greatest defenders."

Damas nodded and slowly extended his hand to her, which she quickly took. In those few moments, a silent, unseen connection between two siblings occurred, even if one was not yet aware of it, but it would be the start of one of the greatest bonds in the history of their world.

"Your highness," She-Ra said with restrained happiness as she bowed her head. As she spoke, the jawbridge to the castle began to lower.

"_Welcome home, my dear brother."_

The General glanced quickly at Teela who, despite now having a saddened look on her face, nodded approvingly. He then faced the warrior woman again.

"I don't know about this whole 'Highness' thing yet," he said calmly as he looked at the now open door to the castle and then back to She-Ra. "But please, call me Adam."


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I'm sorry this has taken so long. These next two chapters have undergone several rewrites in the last few months. I hope you like them and again I apologize for the wait. One more thing, I don't own the characters, don't claim them either. So please don't sue.

Chapter 27

"What if his plan doesn't work?"

Beast-Man nearly tripped over himself trying to maintain a pace with Evil-Lyn who was practically running down the dark corridors towards her quarters. The great witch was growing more annoyed with her fellow minion by the moment.

She knew full well that time was of the essence and if Skeletor's plan was to be properly executed, they did not have time to dwell on semantics.

Plus, one never knew which walls had ears in Snake Mountain.

"It will work," she hissed. "How dare you doubt the great Skeletor, you flea-bitten buffoon!"

Her hairy companion growled at her remark but took it no further than that. When they approached her lair - a makeshift workshop filled with potions, books and a few helpless caged animals that she used for only gods knew what - she flung the doors open without even touching them and walked quickly to a large, rusted box that lay casually between stacks of books on a shelf.

Beast-Man leaned over her shoulder as she opened it and reached inside.

"Grrrrr…..where did you get that?"

A smirk crawled along Evil-Lyn's face as she caressed the smooth, golden features of the object. The top of it was round, which ancient writings and symbols engraved along the top of it. The object was hollow in the center, save for a single red jewel which hung suspended in the air, presumably by magic. The arm-length long base of it appeared to be its handle, Beast-Man deduced, but noted it wasn't long enough to be a fighting staff.

"I acquired it recently," Evil-Lyn said slowly, mostly because she thought Beast-Man was too stupid to follow along any other way. "The merchant who was selling it had no idea what it was or how to unlock its power. Not that it mattered once I cast a spell that made him go insane. I must say that significantly lowered the price of this wonderful little trinket."

Beast-Man nodded blankly.

"What is it?"

Evil-Lyn sighed and rolled her eyes. She wondered if anyone in this place would ever fully appreciate her work towards Skeletor's cause of world and universal domination.

"Just stand-back, ape, I'll show you what it can do," she spat and started to twirl the item in the air, without using her hands. As she did so, she whispered an ancient incantation that caused a bright, twisting wind to form around her. Suddenly the room became so bright that Beast-Man raised his arms to shield his eyes.

Soon the room went dark again and the air settled.

"Evil-Lyn?" Beast-Man growled, waiting for his eyes to refocus.

Rather than a response, Beast-Man heard a soft giggle. He turned to where Evil-Lyn had previously been standing and gasped.

"What's the matter, furball? I thought you would appreciate this."

The words were Evil-Lyn's but the voice was not hers. It was lighter, more feminine. Beast-Man moved closer to her, sniffing the air to be sure the person in front of him was the same person who was there before.

"How did you …"

"We don't have time for this, you fool," harshly, the voice cut him off. "Go get the others. We leave for Grayskull at once!"

Something was wrong.

Shadow Weaver paced the halls of the Fright Zone. Time was closing in. Soon she would open the portal and transport hundreds of Horde Troopers to Eternia. At that very moment, Force Captain Catra was briefing the last of her battalions on Hordak's great plan.

A plan that was contingent on two things: Damas and Weaver's ability to control him.

For his entire life, Weaver could feel her magic working through him. It was a connection that she later came to think of as a mother's umbilical cord. She could tap into his thoughts and his fears. But since they had gone to Eternia, something had changed.

The connection she created, that she felt so strongly in every breath of her, seemed to be severed. And for the first time in her miserable life, Weaver felt fear. It was fear for herself, mostly. She knew if this mission did not go as planned, Horde Prime would want blood, and Hordak wasn't exactly going to be pleased either.

But she was also afraid for Damas. Actually, she was afraid of Damas. Of what would happen if she could no longer control him. If she lost the power she had over his mind. It was that power that had kept him loyal to the Horde, had kept his mind from succumbing to the truths, hidden deep in his subconscious yet always trying to push through. She had been fighting that aspect of his mind for years. Yet, she knew when she left him on Eternia that the connection was breaking and that his mind was privately battling something else inside him. An internal battle that her magic, it seemed, could not alter as it had so many times in the past.

And if she had lost that battle, had lost Damas, then Hordak would DEFINITELY not be pleased. And no magic may be able to save her.

She had to find out what was going on in Damas' head and then she had to get him back to Etheria so she could strengthen her spell on him. Unfortunately, time was not on her side.

"Weaver!"

His voice boomed through her ears and snapped her back to reality. She floated into the throne room, in front of the awaiting battalions of troopers. On his throne, Hordak glowered down at her.

"It's time. Do not fail me."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

There was something about the old, dark castle that seemed to have a strange effect on Adam. There was definitely power there, he could feel it. But it was like the castle itself was a living, breathing entity. And somehow, he was connected to it.

If he weren't so compelled by it, he could have feared it. In fact, he wasn't so sure he didn't on some level.

"This castle is part of your people's history, Adam. It's stood for centuries. It has seen war, peace, revolution and unity. The greatest minds and most powerful sorcerers have all been a part of this place at one time."

She-Ra's voice cut through the silence between them and they walked together, with a strangely comfortable synchronicity, through the corridors.

"It's a part of you too," she continued. "It's your past, present and future."

They approached a large, open room. A long, towering staircase stood in the center of it leading to a great throne, which at that moment sat empty. He looked around and took in every detail. Then he turned to the warrior woman.

"There are still so many things I don't understand," he said slowly. "I don't know what my past really is. When I was younger, I felt different…like I didn't belong on Etheria or with the Horde. But as I grew, it was like this voice in my mind kept telling me that my concerns were cowardice. Being a coward was not an acceptable trait in my fath…..in Hordak's eyes."

When he said this, the magnitude of what it meant to be a member of the Horde stung him. Hordak had lied to him his entire life. If he was not really Horde, that meant the life he was supposed to have had been stolen from him. The anger and the injustice of it stirred something inside him.

"It's natural for you to feel this way, young prince."

The voice startled him but She-Ra gave him a reassuring smile. He looked around for the source of the voice but saw nothing.

"Fear not, Adam," the voice said again. " I am always here and always will be, in some form, to guide you and help you through your coming journeys."

It was then that Adam realized the voice was not spoken outwardly, but inwardly. Whoever was speaking to him was using some kind of telepathy.

"You get used to it," She-Ra soothed. "It caught me off guard the first time too."

He simply nodded and said nothing.

"Let me help you understand," the voice said again. Suddenly, a large brightly colored falcon with a massive wingspan, swooped down over their heads and with a remarkable grace pulled up towards the throne. The raptor then stopped and was consumed in light. Despite its brightness, Adam could not look away and after a few moments, he realized he was holding his breath.

When the light faded, a beautiful woman stood, adorned in a shimmering green and blue tunic that was decorated with magnificent jewels. She wore a shining, gold headdress, similar to those he had seen enchantresses wear on Etheria, but nothing as ornate. In her hand, she carried a long golden staff with a cartouche of a falcon on the top.

Finally, she spoke.

"I am the Sorceress."

She-Ra tugged at his arm, motioning him to move closer. As they ascended the stairs together, Adam continued to stare at the Sorceress in great awe. At the same time, She-Ra's presence, while powerful, provided him with great comfort. He didn't know why, but he was glad she was there. A feeling he hadn't experienced since he was a child. For a brief moment, he found himself thinking of Lieutenant Teela. There was something about her, a brutal honesty that told him he could trust her completely.

It was then that he realized the connection he had to this place had always been there, well concealed under darkness and hate.

When they finally approached her, the Sorceress smiled and reached for his hand.

"This is truly a miracle," she said. Her voice was airy but powerful. To Adam, it was like music he had never heard before.

"I still don't understand," he said slowly. "What is my connection to this place? Who am I really?"

The Sorceress smiled, turned to She-Ra and nodded. Adam watched as his new companion reached behind her back and drew two swords: Both were made of gleaming silver, except one had a large glittering jewel in the center. The other was slightly larger and heavier. It also had writing engraved into the center of the blade. One thing he was certain of, they were unequalled to any other sword he had ever seen or held before in his life.

Slowly, She-Ra handed him larger sword. Adam looked at it, then looked at the Sorceress questioningly. The great mystic nodded in approval.

"It's time the Sword of Grayskull was given to its rightful owner," she said as Adam closed his hand around the grip and as he took it in his hand, he felt a power surge from the cold steel into his very being, as if a bond was being forged between himself and the object. His very heart seemed to stop as he examined it closer. Every doubt about his connection to this world seemed to disappear and a new confidence filled his soul. Finally, he looked at the Sorceress again.

"Tell me," he implored.

Teela threw her staff into the wind-raider and jumped into the pilot's seat with a huff. Frowning, she turned her head and watched as Adam and She-Ra disappeared into Castle Grayskull. When the jawbridge began to pull up, she flipped on the raider's control and started up the engine.

But instead of taking off, she sat there idling for what seemed to be a long period of time. Something wasn't right and it bothered her.

"What's She-Ra's connection to this?" she asked herself. "How did she know about Adam?"

She chewed on the inside of her lip, a nervous habit she picked up in academy, and pondered the questions. As if to answer her, Man-At-Arms' voice came over the raider's intercom.

"Teela, come in. Man-At-Arms to Teela, please respond."

Teela picked up the radio and clicked it on, looking over her shoulder again to Castle Grayskull.

"I'm here father."

Man-At-Arms didn't waste anytime.

"Did She-Ra find you?"

She should have known her father would have briefed She-Ra about the "Adam" situation. She just wished he would have briefed her about the briefing.

"Yes, father," she replied. "She found me…..and Prince Adam."

There was a pause.

"Prince Adam?"

She hadn't realized that her father didn't know of Adam's breakthrough. She berated herself for not contacting him sooner.

"It's a long story," she said into her radio. "But it seems to be getting closer to a happy ending. He's inside Grayskull with She-Ra now. I presume they are meeting with the Sorceress."

As she said this, the winds around Grayskull seemed to change and the sky began to darken. A slight vibration from the ground shimmied through the seats of the windraider, catching Teela's attention.

Concerned, she punched a few more buttons feverishly.

"Father," she said into her radio. "I'm picking up some strange readings around Grayskull."

She looked over the horizon as the rumbling in the ground got louder and more severe. Not sure what she was about to face, she grabbed her staff and got out of the raider. Her father's voice echoing from the radio, but she did not respond.

Something inside her said something very bad was about to happen. There was a dark energy in the air. But it was more than that. It was similar to the feeling she experienced just before every battle she fought in. Only this time it was different. This time it was much more pronounced. And always listened to her instincts, just as her father had taught her.

She leaned over the side of the raider and picked up the radio.

"Teela! Come in! That's an order Lieutenant!"

Calmly, she clicked on the handpiece.

"Father, prepare all the guards and call in the Defenders. I think Grayskull is in serious danger."


End file.
